Heritability of some characters of rye under open pollination

Present investigations cover the correlation between four characters of maternal plants of rye and the corresponding characters in their offspring. Tabulated results pertain to four two-year periods for the Exp. Sta. Choryń and two such periods for the Exp. Sta. Laski, involving several plant material groups derived from various crosses with Dańkowskie Selekcyjne rye.The effects of average grain weight per ear of the maternal plant on the corresponding yields in the offspring have proved rather small, but sporadically approaching or attaining the limits of significance. The influence of resistance to lodging of the maternal plant on that same character in the offspring has proved no greater, but, in spite of the considerable multidirectional differentiation of the coefficients of correlation and regression, in 4 groups out of a total of 27 they surpassed the limits of significance, sometimes attaining high values.In contrast to these two characters, but in agreement with expectations, there was a fairly pronounced effect of 1000 grain weight and of the maternal plant height on the same characters in the offspring. Significant coefficients of regression for the former characters ranged from 0.11 to 0.22 g, and for the latter from 0.03 to 0.37 cm.The present paper also includes less numerous results of analogous investigations on the relation of characters determined in the microtrials with those examined in the next generation. These results indicate good transmission of earliness, measured by the date of earing, and of the weight of 1000 grains, but a much weaker transmission of resistance to lodging and of grain yields.The conclusions drawn on breeding strategy suggest opportunities for efficient selection under the method of recombination towards short straw and a high 1000 grain weight within maternal plants, and also the advisability of shifting the main impact of selection for yield and resistance to lodging onto the following generations.