Variation Studies in Carrots as an Aid to Breeding. I. Concepts

Abstract

Field experiments to measure and partition phenotypic variation in carrots are described. In this introductory paper the concepts underlying these experiments are discussed, and the design and analysis procedure are illustrated by examples taken from the first series (1968–70) of experiments laid down. The experiments described provide information on the relative magnitude of genetic, macro-environmental and genotype-environmental interaction effects for characters of economic importance in maincrop carrots. It is demonstrated how this information can be interpreted and used in the planning of a carrot breeding programme.