A modified mass selection scheme for creating winter-hardy faba bean (Vicia faba L.) lines with a broad genetic base

• Published in: Euphytica 2017-03, Vol.213 (3), p.1, Article 72
• Main Authors: Landry, Erik J., Coyne, Clarice J., McGee, Rebecca J., Hu, Jinguo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Beans; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cover crops; Genetic diversity; Germplasm; Harvesting; Legumes; Life Sciences; Mimosaceae; Overwintering; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Population genetics; Selective breeding
• ISSN: 0014-2336; 1573-5060
• DOI: 10.1007/s10681-017-1843-2

Winter-hardy faba bean ( Vicia faba L.) from northern Europe is represented by a rather narrow gene pool. Limited selection gains for overwintering below −25 °C have restricted the adoption of this crop. Therefore, the faba bean collection maintained by the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) was utilized to broaden this genetic base by identifying potentially new sources of winter-hardiness using a modified mass selection scheme. From an initial source population, bulk-harvested micro-plots of 466 NPGS accessions, four different bulks were formed by harvesting seeds from plants that survived at four locations representing a range of overwintering selection environments across southeastern Washington. These four bulk populations were then mass selected for three cycles based on winter survival along with a selected group of advanced northern European populations or breeding lines at two southeastern Washington locations with divergent climates. This procedure generated breeding materials with winter-hardiness comparable to the northern European populations. We observed that Northern European populations showed slower annual gains in percent survival (5%). Further, the frequency of large seeded populations (>80 g × 100 seed −1 ) was reduced over time, suggesting an association between seed size and overwintering. The breeding materials generated by mass selection are useful for the future improvement of faba bean as a fall-sown pulse or cover crop.