AGRONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND HETEROSIS OF STRAWBERRY INBRED HYBRIDS OBTAINED BY TOP-CROSS MATING SYSTEM

The aim of this study was to develop an inbred lines from octoploid strawberry and to determine their breeding value by estimating the effects of general combining ability (GCA) and mid-parent heterosis. All inbred lines were obtained through selfing using five cultivars. The number of inflorescences, number of flowers per inflorescence, fruit yield, fruit number per plant, average fruit weight, number and weight of leaves as well as number of runners per plant were recorded from 2014 to 2015. The highest breeding value was estimated for maternal forms of ‘Senga Sengana’ 17 for six important traits. The lowest GCA effects were exhibited by inbred lines derived from clone 1387 18. Degree of heterosis for a given trait differed greatly among hybrids. The highest heterosis in terms of a number of inflorescences, fruit yield, number of fruits per plant and leaf weight occurred in the Kent 7-14 × ‘Dukat’ progeny. The results obtained could be used to evaluate the agronomic performance and to make more efficient choices of parents in current strawberry breeding programs.