The purpose of this study was to estimate the combining ability between two groups of potato parents in early generations of selection. Twelve potato families, derived from two groups of parents crossed in a 4x3 partial diallel design, were evaluated, in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Additive effects of genes were predominant for the traits tuber shape uniformity, tuber pointiness, tuber curvature, general tuber appearance, tuber size uniformity, tuber number, total tuber yield, and average tuber weight. With regard to general combining ability, for all tuber appearance traits, the foreign parents ‘Pukara’ and ‘Asterix’, and the national parent ‘Eliza’ contributed with complementary favorable alleles. For tuber yield component traits, the foreign parent ‘Rioja’ and the national parent ‘Eliza’ were outstanding. The specific combining ability indicated ‘Pukara’/‘Eliza’ as the most promising cross for the development of superior genotypes for the traits general tuber appearance and tuber number.

The in vitro and field reactions of 23 potato cultivars and clones to two isolates of Phytophthora infestans were tested. The in vitro test used the detached potato leaflets method, and disease severity was evaluated 6 days after inoculation. Field experiments were conducted in autumn of 2013, in two locations in Pelotas City, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Seven evaluations of the disease severity were performed. From the severity values, the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) was calculated. Tubers were harvested to determine the yield (g plot-1). The A2 mating type isolate was the most aggressive for the majority of the potato genotypes. It was possible to group the different reactions of the potato genotypes based on the AUDPC values. Clones C2553-1-06, C2573-4-06, C2550-4-06, C2551-2-06, and CIP392,617.54 showed moderate-to-high resistance to the two isolates of P. infestans. The values of severity and AUDPC obtained in vitro and field tests were positively correlated for both P. infestans isolates, but in some interactions, inconsistencies were observed. Tuber yield was negatively correlated with AUDPC.

The study investigated the potential of genomic selection (GS) to accelerate genetic improvement in forage oats (Avena sp.) by predicting herbage yield. The results showed that GS can be an effective tool for predicting herbage yield in forage oats, with prediction accuracies ranging from 0.91 to 0.97. The use of SNP markers for GS in forage oats has several advantages over traditional marker-assisted selection (MAS), including the ability to capture more of the genetic variation for the trait of interest. The accuracy of GS predictions can be further improved by using trait-specific relationship matrices (TGRMs) and genomic information from multiple generations. Key Findings GS can be an effective tool for predicting herbage yield in forage oats, with prediction accuracies ranging from 0.91 to 0.97. The use of SNP markers for GS in forage oats has several advantages over traditional MAS, including the ability to capture more of the genetic variation for the trait of interest. The accuracy of GS predictions can be further improved by using TGRMs and genomic information from multiple generations. Implications GS can be used to accelerate the development of new forage oat varieties with improved herbage yield. GS has the potential to significantly improve the agronomic performance and quality of forage oat varieties. Future Research Develop a more structured training population to improve the accuracy of GS predictions. Identify trait-specific relationship matrices (TGRMs) to further improve the accuracy of GS predictions. Investigate the use of genomic information from multiple generations to improve the accuracy of GS predictions.

As atividades de introdução, avaliação e melhoramento de plantas forrageiras em Santa Catarina tiveram início a partir de 1912, quando o Ministério da Agricultura implantou várias unidades de fomento à agropecuária no Brasil. O Posto Zootécnico Federal de Lages foi uma dessas instituições pioneiras. Na mesma década foram introduzidas algumas forrageiras exóticas e posteriormente avaliadas espécies nativas. No entanto, foi a partir de 1975, com a fundação da Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Santa Catarina (Empasc), que os trabalhos de melhoramento tiveram impulso, com várias estações experimentais se dedicando a esta atividade, principalmente a Estação Experimental de Lages, que possuía pesquisador melhorista entre seus colaboradores. O objetivo deste artigo é caracterizar e registrar as características agronômicas dos cultivares lançados pela Epagri desde a década de 1980, muitos dos quais são cultivares importantes nos sistemas pecuários de Santa Catarina e em outras regiões do sul do Brasil, ou apresentam potencial como material genético para a seleção de novos cultivares. Destacam-se os cultivares SCS314 Santa Vitória e SCS315 Catarina Gigante, respectivamente de aveia-perene e missioneira-gigante, únicos de suas espécies registrados no Brasil.

SCS313 Serrano is a tetraploid cultivar of Lotus uliginosus developed by the Research and Rural Extension Company of Santa Catarina, Brazil, to improve flowering ability and seed production in low-latitude regions. SCS313 Serrano was developed from the selection of individual plants of the cultivar Grasslands Maku. Seeds from the initial breeding population was bulked and used to establish a field trial with spaced plants. The plants were selected and classified as late or early, regarding the beginning of flowering, through visual evaluations based on the time for the beginning of flowering. Selected plants were transplanted to crossing blocks and seed harvested on individual plants; a progeny test was conducted, with four replications, through the establishment of approximately 100 genotypes in a field. This process was repeated for three consecutive cycles of recurrent selection. Considering the mean time for the beginning of flowering and vigor performance, the best five genotypes were selected as parental lines for the synthetic cultivar SCS313 Serrano. A morphological difference between SCS313 Serrano and Grasslands Maku is that SCS313 Serrano has absence of hairs in stems whereas Grasslands Maku has a medium stem hair density. In addition, SCS313 Serrano exhibits profuse flowering ability while Grasslands Maku exhibits very sparse seedhead formation. SCS313 Serrano exhibited good persistence under wet conditions and similar forage yields compared to other lotus commercial cultivars. Thus, SCS313 Serrano is recommended to be used as pasture in mixtures with grass in livestock systems, mainly on wet soils.