Increasing grain yield of oats by independent culling for harvest index and vegetative growth index or unit straw weight

Summary Most variation in grain yield of oats is due to variation in harvest index and vegetative growth index, but the latter traits are negatively associated. Therefore we used independent culling levels to select oat genotypes with high levels of vigor traits and a desirable level of harvest index in an attempts to maximize grain yield. Harvest index and vegetative growth index or harvest index and unit straw weight were selected at various culling levels. Intensive selection for harvest index resulted in high harvest index but no grain yield improvement, because the selected lines had poor vigor. Intensive selection for vegetative growth index or unit straw weight resulted in high biomass but low harvest index.The most effective combination of culling levels was to select 25% of the original population for harvest index and, subsequently, to select for vegetative growth index or unit straw weight at an 8% intensity in the remnant population.Journal Paper No. J-11272 of the Iowa Agric. and Home Econ. Exp. Stn., Ames, IA 50011. Project 2447. This work was supported in part by the World Food Institute, Iowa State Univ., in the form of a Senior Fellowship for the senior author.