Parental selection in diallel crosses of Jatropha curcas using mixed models

ABSTRACT. Diallel crosses in an unbalanced scheme were carried out in Jatropha to (i) evaluate the additive and non-additive genetic components; (ii) select parents through the general combining ability; (iii) estimate the specific combining ability used in the crosses; and (iv) verify the existence of the maternal effect and inbreeding depression. The experiment was carried out in a complete diallel scheme with four progenitors, unbalanced for the number of crosses. The experimental design consisted of a randomized block, with 5 replications and 3 plants per plot. The following characteristics were evaluated: stem diameter (SD), number of branches (NB), plant height (PH), canopy projection on the row (CPR), canopy projection between rows (CPB), mass of hundred grains (MHG) and grain yield (GY). Estimates of variances were obtained using the method of restricted maximum likelihood, while breeding values were estimated by the best linear unbiased prediction. It was concluded that the additive effect was predominant in the genetic control for SD, CPR, and CPB; the dominance effect was predominant for PH, NB, and GY; there was a cytoplasmic effect and nuclear genes of the female parent for all evaluated traits; parents 107 and 190 are promising for reducing the size and increasing the grain yield; there was inbreeding depression for SD and GY; and the favorable crosses for increasing GY were 190x107 and 190x190.