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Title: Combining ability of sweetpotato germplasm for yield, dry matter content, and anthocyanin production

Author
item TODD, STEVEN - North Carolina State University
item Truong, Van Den
item PECOTA, KENNETH - North Carolina State University
item YENCHO, G. CRAIG - North Carolina State University

Submitted to: Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/14/2015
Publication Date: 6/16/2015
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61188
Citation: Todd, S., Truong, V.D., Pecota, K.V., Yencho, G. 2015. Combining ability of sweetpotato germplasm for yield, dry matter content and anthocyanin production. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 140(3):272-279.

Interpretive Summary: In the United States, there is a growing interest in the sweetpotato industry in exploring the market opportunities for purple-fleshed sweetpotatoes (PFSP) as a healthy food choice and potential source for natural food colorants and industrial products. Breeding efforts have been carried out to develop PFSP varieties adaptable to local growing conditions and postharvest handling practices. In this paper, we report the breeding experiments to estimate the relative importance of combining abilities for dry matter content, total anthocyanin concentration, fresh yield, and total dry matter and anthocyanin yields. Phytotypic and family mean correlations among these parameters suggested that improving one trait will not negatively impact other traits of importance, and adapted varieties with high anthocyanin concentrations can be developed.

Technical Abstract: Interest in the potential of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) for the production of industrial products is increasing. As part of an effort to evaluate the potential of sweetpotatoes for starch and anthocyanin production in the southeastern United States, a 5 x 5 North Carolina mating design II (NCII mating design) was developed to estimate the relative importance of general and specific combining abilities for dry matter (DM) content, total monomeric anthocyanin (TMA) concentration, fresh yield, and total DM and anthocyanin yields. All five traits had significant general combining abilities (GCA). Yield and DM yield had significant specific combining abilities. Significant differences among parents were observed for all traits. Yield, DM content, DM yield, and TMA yield were significantly impacted by spatial gradients within the field, but TMA concentration was not. Many trait-pairs of interest had either genotypic and/or phenotypic correlations. Phenotypic and family mean correlations among yield, DM content, and DM yield; as well as among yield, TMA, and TMA yield suggested that improving one trait will not negatively impact other traits of importance.