An investigation of genotype environment interactions in oat lines (Avena sativa) derived from composite populations

Abstract

An investigation of genotype environment interactions in two composite populations (A65 and A66) of spring oats grown at four contrasting sites in Scotland showed that: (a) Genotype environment interactions were operative in both composite populations. In the A65 composite population a significant portion of these interactions was accounted for by a linear function of the environmental means. In the A66 composite, however, most of the interaction was independent of this linear component and therefore the square root of the variance was used as a measure of environmental sensitivity. (b) There was no significant correlation between mean grain yield and environmental sensitivity in the two composite populations examined. (c) It was confirmed that the selection environment is very important in determining the environmental sensitivity of resultant selections. (d) The implications of these results for the oat breeder are discussed. © 1984, The Genetical Society of Great Britain.