Agronomic variability and selection of F1 progeny Paspalum

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the forage performance and estimate the correlations of agronomic traits of interspecific hybrids of Paspalum in two distinct physiographic regions. They evaluated 20 hybrids, two ecotypes of P. guenoarum, one P. plicatulum and cv. Aruana of Panicum maximum, used as a control. The design was a randomized block design with three replications. The traits measured were: total dry matter yield, leaf dry matter yield, stem dry matter yield, inflorescence dry matter yield, leaf: stem ratio, height, plant coverage diameter and number of tillers. The hybrids 10E4026, 10E5052, 08Q01, 10E43, 10E40104, 10E6086, 10E4025, 10E5017, 10E4041, 10E4071 and 10E31 showed higher forage performance in both environments and are suitable for new steps in forage breeding programs. The high positive correlation between the leaf dry mass with the total dry mass, plant coverage diameter and height, makes the estimation of correlations an important tool in selecting hybrids with superior agronomic traits.