Selection in Early Generations of Dried Peas, Pisurm sativum L.

Seed production in peas is limited by early and severe lodging and by a low multiplication rate and pea breeders have tried to overcome such disadvantages by growing plants in early generations widely-spaced against wire netting. Progenies of four pea crosses were each tested over a period of tour years to investigate whether single plant selection for quantitative characters, in particular grain yield, is efficient in such circumstances in the Is generation. Efficiency of selection was also studied for yield and yield related characters in the F₃ based on f₂ derived single plant progenies grown in unreplicated microplots. Early yield selection in the F₂ as well as in the F₃ proved to be of poor efficiency. Heritability values of all recorded traits were only slightly higher in the F₃ than in the F₂. Efficiency of yield selection could not be increased significantly in these early generations by indirect selection, either for single traits or for index traits. Possible reasons are discussed for the low efficiency of direct and indirect selection for grain yield in early generations and proposals are made for its improvement and for alternative selection strategies.