Determination of breeding values for diploid (2x) male parents used in ‘Mchare’ banana breeding

The main purpose of this research project is to determine breeding values of  male banana parents at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Tanzania, with the aim of identifying male parents with high breeding values and using them in making crosses which will have high chances of generating high yielding, Mchare banana hybrids, resistant to pests and diseases and acceptable to farmers.

Sixteen male parents will be crossed with one female Mchare (tester).

Twenty-five offspring from each family together with their parents will be planted in a field at IITA station – Arusha, Tanzania. These will be evaluated for performance according to the Mchare product profile traits. The data will be collected for two cycles using field book and sent directly to Musabase for storage and sharing.

Selection index for each individual will be calculated.

Average selection index, which is a proxy for the breeding value, will be determined for all the individuals in the same family. This will be used to rank male parents.

The best linear unbiased predictions with Restricted Maximum Likelihood model will be used to calculate the variance components and genotypic values for each trait.

Genotyping will be done using Diversity Array Technology, through Intertek at SLU campus in Alnarp for about 6 months, 30 months will be spent at IITA.

The genomic estimated breeding value of each individual genotype will be determined using BayesB model and this will enable genomic selection.