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Family Selection Improves the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Selecting Original Seedlings and Parents

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Abstract

Family selection has been used in several sugarcane breeding programs for many years, and has been shown to be superior to individual selection (also known as mass selection), in terms of gains from selection, resource efficiency, and cost of operation. Other breeding programs have expressed interest in family selection, but the technique has not been widely adopted for logistical reasons. Suggestions for overcoming the constraints to family selection are made. Family selection has also been shown to provide a superior method for estimating the breeding value of parent clones. Objective data on the performance of families provides invaluable information on the breeding performance of parent clones. Best Linear Unbiased Predictors (BLUPs) can be estimated for a range of traits from the results of family selection trials, and these are estimates of breeding value. In Australia, current research is aimed at improving the BLUP estimates by combining data across all selection programs, including family × environment interactions, and partitioning the genetic effects of each parent into additive and non-additive genetic effects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BSES Limited, Brisbane, Australia

    J. K. Stringer

  2. BSES Limited, Bundaberg, Australia

    M. C. Cox

  3. BSES Limited, Gordonvale, Australia

    F. C. Atkin

  4. BSES Limited, Mackay, Australia

    X. Wei

  5. Formerly BSES, Brisbane, Australia

    D. M. Hogarth

Authors
  1. J. K. Stringer
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  2. M. C. Cox
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  3. F. C. Atkin
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  4. X. Wei
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  5. D. M. Hogarth
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Correspondence to J. K. Stringer.

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Stringer, J.K., Cox, M.C., Atkin, F.C. et al. Family Selection Improves the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Selecting Original Seedlings and Parents. Sugar Tech 13, 36–41 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-011-0073-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-011-0073-5

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