Heritability of Resistance to Verticillium Wilt in Alfalfa

Verticillium wilt of alfalfa, caused by Verticillium albo-atrum, may reduce forage yields by up to 50% in alfalfa-producing areas of the northern United States and Canada. It has been suggested that cultivars require at least 60% resistant plants to afford maximum protection against disease. Our objective was to calculate heritability estimates of resistance to Verticillium wilt in alfalfa. Estimates were generated for two alfalfa populations developed from the cvs. Affinity + Z and Depend + EV. Heritability on a half-sib progeny means basis was calculated based on data from greenhouse pathogenicity tests. Estimates based on repeated experiments conducted for single years (2004 and 2005) were high for both populations, ranging from 0.86 to 0.92. The heritability estimate based on data collected over 2 years was 0.26 for Affinity + Z and 0.66 for Depend + EV. Disease was more severe in 2005 than in 2004. However, the Spearman rank correlation between mean disease severity index values for half-sib families over 2 years was positive and significant for both populations. Results of pathogenicity tests suggested that neither cultivar had resistance levels approaching 60%. The heritability estimates suggest that resistance levels in both Affinity + Z and Depend + EV could be improved further through selection.