Comparison of Lines From Anther and Maternally-derived Dihaploids in Flue-cured Tobacco(Nicotiana tabacum L.)

The present study was conducted to compare the relative efficiency of two different haploid breeding methods in tobacco varietal development. A single FI hybrid plant from cross of two flue-cured cultivars of Nicotiana tabacum L., Bright Yellow4(BY4) and NC95, was used to develop the 30 anther derived dihaploid (ADH) lines and maternally-derived dihaploid (MDH) lines utilizing Nicotiana africana, respectively. As compared with mid-parent, mean of ADH lines showed increase in number of leaves, delay in days to flower and narrow in width of leaf. However, no significant differences in the other investigated characters were recognized. MDH lines also showed narrow width of leaf, while no significant differences in the other characters were observed. The variations of the investigated characters were generally greater in ADH than MDH lines. MDH lines had higher height of plant and shorter days to flower than ADH lines, while the other characters did not show remarkable differences. The degree of heritability for each of the characters observed between ADH and MDH was almost the same. The characters showing high heritability value were height of plant, number of leaves, days to flower, and yield, while those showing relatively low value were length of leaf, width of leaf, and total alkaloid content. Predicted gains from selection for increased yield were calculated for both populations(ADH, MDH) and correlated responses associated with selection for yield were estimated. Height of plant, width of leaf, days to flower, and concentration of reduceing sugar would be expected to improve with selection for yield much faster in the MDH population than in the ADH.