GENERAL AND SPECIFIC COMBINING ABILITY IN SEVEN INBRED STRAWBERRY LINES

Abstract

Seedlings of a diallel cross of seven strawberry inbreds omitting reciprocals were fruited in matted rows. Per acre fruit yields were comparable with leading cultivars, but berry appearance and quality of the hybrids were poor. Differences in resistance to powdery mildew reflected the values of the cultivars from which the inbreds were derived.All four characters studied showed significant general combining ability values, and three of the four showed significant specific combining ability values. These results are consistent with previous findings of considerable amounts of non-additive genetic variation in the strawberry.