Vol. 12, Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Kaveri Chawan

Abstract:
The use of genetic resources in breeding programmes will be managed and accelerated by core collection. A core set of crop genetic resources is considered "first-look sources" of trait-specific accessions for use in crop breeding programs. During the summer of 2021, the genetic variability of 2000 soybean germplasm accessions were assessed at ZARS UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru. The standard stratified clustering approach was used to develop 8 core sets from a base collection based on 13 qualitative and 7 quantitative traits. The core sets were validated using various univariate and multivariate statistics to assess their representativeness for the base collection. During the kharif 2021, 300 germplasm accessions (15% core size) were evaluated at two sites, K-Block GKVK, Bengaluru, and KVK Doddaballapur, to identify trait-specific accessions from the best core set. Eight core sets were developed in the current study using the SSC approach. Logarithmic sampling with preferred allocation approach-based core set of 15% size was identified as the best representative of the base collection. Many trait-specific accessions were promising for the combination of desirable traits from the best core set that are suggested for preferential use in crossing programmes to generate variability for developing farmer-acceptable varieties.