Genomic selection (GS) emphasizes the simultaneous prediction of the genetic effects of thousands of scattered markers over the genome. Several statistical methodologies have been used in GS for the prediction of genetic merit. In general, such methodologies require certain assumptions about the data, such as the normality of the distribution of phenotypic values. To circumvent the non-normality of phenotypic values, the literature suggests the use of Bayesian Generalized Linear Regression (GBLASSO). Another alternative is the models based on machine learning, represented by methodologies such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Decision Trees (DT) and related possible refinements such as Bagging, Random Forest and Boosting. This study aimed to use DT and its refinements for predicting resistance to orange rust in Arabica coffee. Additionally, DT and its refinements were used to identify the importance of markers related to the characteristic of interest. The results were compared with those from GBLASSO and ANN. Data on coffee rust resistance of 245 Arabica coffee plants genotyped for 137 markers were used. The DT refinements presented equal or inferior values of Apparent Error Rate compared to those obtained by DT, GBLASSO, and ANN. Moreover, DT refinements were able to identify important markers for the characteristic of interest. Out of 14 of the most important markers analyzed in each methodology, 9.3 markers on average were in regions of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) related to resistance to disease listed in the literature.

Delineation of site-specific nutrient management zones (MZ) provides a basis for practical and cost-effective management of spatial soil fertility in precision agriculture. Therefore, the objective of this study was the delineation of MZs in a soybean field using geostatistics, principal component analysis (PCA), and the fuzzy k-means algorithm. The study was carried out in a field with 204 ha located in São Desidério, western Bahia state, Brazil (12 ° 25 ‘ 12” S, 45 ° 29ʹ 46” W). To do so, samples of soil attributes (0–20 cm), soybean yield, electrical conductivity (EC) at 0.20 m (EC02), 0.50 m (EC05), 1.00 m (EC1), 2.00 m (EC2) soil profile depth, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were obtained in 204 points (100 x 100 m grid). After soil sampling and laboratory analyzes, the data were submitted to descriptive statistics and a Spearman correlation analysis was performed to select those attributes related to soybean yield. Then, the spatial variability of these attributes was assessed and spatial distribution maps were constructed using geostatistical tools. Next, PCA and fuzzy k-means algorithm were then performed to delineate MZs. Finally, the agreement between the MZs maps obtained from the PCA and soybean yield was assessed using the Kappa index. Results showed that the optimal number of MZs was two, which resulted in a Kappa index of 0.61 (very good). Moreover, the analysis of variance indicated heterogeneity between all attributes analyzed in the MZs. Finally, the defined MZs provide a basis of information for site-specific nutrient management.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi propor uma abordagem bayesiana do método de Eberhart & Russell para avaliar a adaptabilidade e da estabilidade fenotípica de genótipos de alfafa (Medicago sativa), bem como avaliar a eficiência da utilização de distribuições a priori informativas e pouco informativas. Foram utilizados dados de um experimento em blocos ao acaso, no qual se avaliou a produção de massa de matéria seca de 92 genótipos. A metodologia bayesiana proposta foi implementada no programa livre R por meio da função MCMCregress do pacote MCMCpack. Para representar as distribuições a priori pouco informativas, utilizaram-se distribuições de probabilidade com grande variância; e, para representar distribuições a priori informativas, adotou-se o conceito de meta-análise, que se caracteriza pela utilização de informações provenientes de trabalhos anteriores. A comparação entre as distribuições a priori foi realizada por meio do fator de Bayes, com a função BayesFactor do pacote MCMCpack, que indicou a priori informativa como a mais adequada nas condições deste estudo.