Breeding value of selected blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) genotypes for early-age fruit yield and its quality

The study was conducted in the years from 2011 to 2013 at the Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, Poland. The aim of the research was to assess the breeding value, based on the effects of general and specific combining abilities (GCA and SCA), of 15 parental genotypes of blackcurrant in terms of fruit yield and quality. The plant material consisted of F₁ generation seedlings obtained by crossing, in a factorial mating design of twelve maternal (‘Bona’, ‘Big Ben’, ‘Chereshnieva’, Kupoliniai’, ‘Gofert’, ‘Tines’, ‘Sofievskaia’, ‘Tihope’, ‘Ores’, ‘Ruben’, ‘Titania’ and D13B/11) and three paternal cultivars (‘Ceres’, ‘Foxendown’ and ‘Saniuta’). It was found that the cultivars ‘Ruben’, ‘Big Ben’, ‘Gofert’ and D13B/11 had significant positive effects of GCA on fruit yield at least in two consecutive years. ‘Ruben’, ‘Saniuta’ and D13B/11 had positive GCA effects on fruit weight. For ‘Chereshnieva’, ‘Gofert’, ‘Tines’, ‘Sofievskaia’, ‘Tihope’, ‘Titania’, ‘Ceres’ and Saniuta’ positive GCA effects were estimated for soluble solids content, whereas ‘Ruben’, ‘Ceres’, ‘Gofert’ and ‘Ores’ had positive GCA effects on the ascorbic acid content in fruit. This indicated a high breeding value of these parental genotypes in terms of the evaluated traits. The significantly positive values of SCA, estimated for the crossing combinations: ‘Big Ben’?×?‘Saniuta’, ‘Ruben’?×?‘Foxendown’, ‘Titania’?×?‘Ceres’, ‘Kupoliniai’?×?‘Saniuta’, ‘Gofert’?×?‘Foxendown’, ‘Gofert’?×?‘Saniuta’, ‘Tines’?×?‘Ceres’ and ‘Tihope’?×?‘Foxendown’ for at least two traits describing fruit yield and quality, were evidence of the interaction of both these parental genotypes in the creation of new dessert-type cultivars of blackcurrant.