Performance of common bean families after different generations under natural selection

ABSTRACT

A segregant bulk population derived from a single cross between the Carioca MG cultivar and the ESAL 686 line was used to investigate whether the action of natural selection in the direction required by the breeders and the delaying line extraction would increase the chance of obtaining families with greater grain yield. The populations were advanced from F2 to F24 and obtained families F2, F8 and F24 from the plants. These families and their parents were assessed for grain yield (kg/ha) in Lavras-MG in three sowing seasons (July 2001, November 2001 and March 2002) in an 18 x 18 lattice design with two replications in the first sowing and three in the other two. The largest mean yield, regardless of sowing season, was among the families derived from the F24 plants. The frequency of superior families increased when line extraction was delayed to more advanced generations.