Pedigree Selection for Seed Yield and Number of Pods per Main Stem in Two Segregating Populations of Faba Bean (Vica faba L.)

This study was conducted in El-Mattana Research Station at Upper Egypt during three successive winter seasons of 2007/2008, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 to improve seed yield of faba bean. The breeding materials used in this study were the F F and F generations of the two faba bean crosses Giza-2 x Giza-716 3, 4 5 (population 1) and Giza-716 x Triple White (population 2) and the check cultivar Sakha1. Two selection criteria were used, number of pods/main stem and seed weight/plant, to measure the achieved improvement with pedigree selection. The difference between F families was highly significant in both populations, satisfactory 3 genotypic coefficients of variation were detected for selection of no. of pods/main stem and seed yield/plant. The results indicated that the selection for seed weight/plant after two cycles of pedigree selection increased the criterion of selection in population 1 by 9.94, 60.91 and 71.38% compared to the bulk sample, check cultivar and the best parent respectively. Such increase was accompanied with increasing number of seeds/plant (8.87%), 100 seeds weight (3.68%), number of pods/plant (0.05%) and number of branches/plant (14.99%), decrease in plant height by 10.08% and late days to maturity by 2.57% compared to the bulk sample,respectively. Respect to pedigree selection for seed weight/plant after two cycles in population 2, the resulting families showed realized response to selection of 21.80, 37.42 and 54.01% compared to the bulk sample, check cultivar and the best parent, respectively. Such increase accompanied with increasing number of 100 seeds weight, number of seeds/plant, number of pods/main stem and number of branches/plant by 12.48, 8.07, 0.78 and 14.87%, respectively and decreased number of pods/plant and plant height by 3.14 and 1.08% and late days to maturity by 5.27%. The results indicated that selection for no. of pods/main stem in population 1 improved it by 68.45, 165.07 and 186.39% compared to the bulk sample, check cultivar and the best parent respectively and improved it by 28.81 and 85.47% compared to the bulk sample and check cultivar and decreasing 0.19% compared to the best parent in population 2. Such increase was accompanied with increasing no. of branches/plant, no. of pods/plant and no. of seeds/plant by 26.37, 11.54 and 11.02% respectively and decreasing 100 seed weight, seed weight/plant and plant height by 7.14, 4.25 and 07.36% compared to the bulk sample in population 1. Such increase was accompanied with increasing no. of pods/plant and no. of seeds/plant by 14.95 and 2.27% compared to the bulk sample anddecreasing 100 seeds weight by 11.8%. In population 1, families No. 12, 37, 39, 58 and 68 gave higher seed weight/plant than the bulk sample, check cultivar and best parent, while families No.12 and 68 were the families that attained both the superiority of no. of pods/main stem and out yielding. In population 2, all families were out yielded and higher in no. of pods/main stem than the bulk sample, but family No. 23 attained both the superiority of number of pods/main stem and out yielding compared to the bulk sample, check cultivar and the best parent.