Heritability Estimates of Agronomic Traits and Essential Oil Content in Iranian Fennels

Authors
A. Izadi-Darbandi
K. Bahmani
H. A. Ramshini
N. Moradia
Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Science, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Pakdasht, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) benefits from a lot of useful medicinal properties. Iran is known as one of the main producers of fennel. In spite of high medicinal values, fennel’s cultivation is not economically feasible, mainly due to its low yield. It grows wild in different areas in Iran from where diverse ecotypes have evolved. Genetic variance and heritability estimates of traits in a plant’s primary germplasms are needed before planning of a new breeding program. In the present study the genetic diversity and broad sense heritability for 50 fennel ecotypes were assessed under field conditions for a duration of two years. Seed yield, essential oil content and some morphological traits were recorded during a two experimental years. Through stepwise regression, the yield affecting traits and essential oil content were determined. During the first and second experimental years the most effective traits affecting essential oil content were found to be the number of leaves per plant and days to 50% flowering, respectively. The weight of dry biomass affected seed yield the highest during any of the two years and for each separate year. The broad sense heritability during the two experimental years, for essential oil content and seed yield, were 0.46 and 0.63, respectively. However, some such traits as, days to 50% flowering and length of middle internodes showed higher comparative heritability (0.90 and 0.79, respectively). The high heritability of the studied traits in this germplasm indicates the germplasm’s high genetic potential to be made use of in breeding programs.

Keywords

1. Al-Kordy, A.M.A. 2000. Mother plant selection in local germplasm of fennel Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Ann. Agr. Sci. Moshtohor., 38: 2199-2215.
2. Anil, S.R., Siril, E.A. and Beevy, S.S. 2011. Morphological variability in 17 wild elephant foot yam (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius) collections from southwest India. Genet. Resour. Crop. Ev., 1-12.
3. Azizi F., Rezai A.M., Saeidi G.2006. Generation mean analysis to estimate genetic parameters for different traits in two crosses of corn inbred lines at three planting densities. J. Agric. sci. Technol., 8: 153-169.
4. Baghalian, K., Maghsodi, M. and Naghavi, M.R. 2010a. Genetic diversity of Iranian madder (Rubia tinctorum) populations based on agro-morphological traits, phytochemical content and RAPD markers. Ind. Crop. Prod., 31: 557-562.
5. Baghalian, K., Sheshtamand, M.S. and Jamshidi, A.H. 2010b. Genetic variation and heritability of agro-morphological and phytochemical traits in Iranian saffron (Crocus sativus L.) populations. Ind. Crop. Prod., 31: 401-406.
6. Bahmani, K., Izadi-Darbandi, Ali., Sadat Noori, Seyed Ahmad., Jafari, Ali Ashraf. and Moradi, N. 2012. Determination of Interrelationships Among Phenotypic Traits of Iranian Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) Using Correlation, Stepwise Regression and Path Analyses. J. Essent. Oil. Bear. Pl.,15 (3): 424-44.
7. Bottignon, M.R., Rufino, E.R., Marques, M.O.M., Colombo, C.A., Azevedo Filho, J.A., Louren, A.L., Martins, A.L.M. and Siqueira, W.J. 2011. Heterogeneity of linalool chemotypes of Lippia alba (Mill.) NE Br., based on clonal half-sib progenies. Sci. Agric., 68: 447-453.
8. Dashti H., Naghavi M.R., Tajabadipour A.2010. Genetic analysis of salinity tolerance in a bread wheat cross. J. Agr. Sci. Tech., 12: 347-356.
9. Draper, N.R. and H. Smith. 1998. Applied regression analysis. 3rd Ed. John Wiley and Sons, New York, NY.
10. El-Awadi, M.E. and Hassan, E.A. 2010. Physiological Responses of Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare Mill) Plants to Some Growth Substances. The Effect of Certain Amino Acids and a Pyrimidine Derivative. J. Am. Sci., 6.
11. Gegas, V.C., Nazari, A., Griffiths, S., Simmonds, J., Fish, L., Orford, S., Sayers, L., Doonan, J.H. and Snape, J.W. 2010. A genetic framework for grain size and shape variation in wheat. The Plant Cell Online., 22: 1046-1056.
12. Gross, M., Lewinsohn, E., Tadmor, Y., Bar, E., Dudai, N., Cohen, Y. and Friedman, J. 2009. The inheritance of volatile phenylpropenes in bitter fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. var. vulgare, Apiaceae) chemotypes and their distribution within the plant. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 37: 308-316.
13. Hadian, J., Tabatabaei, S.M.F., Naghavi, M.R., Jamzad, Z. and Ramak-Masoumi, T. 2008. Genetic diversity of Iranian accessions of Satureja hortensis L. based on horticultural traits and RAPD markers. Sci. Hortic-Amsterdam., 115: 196-202.
14. Hallauer, A.R. 1970. Genetic variability for yield after four cycles of reciprocal recurrent selections in maize. Crop Sci., 10: 482-485.
15. Heywood, V.H. (2002). Biomolecular Aspects of Biodiversity and Innovative Utilization. In: "The Conservation of Genetic and Chemical Diversity in Medicinal and Aromatic Plants". (Ed.): B. Sener, Proceedings of the 3rd IUPAC. International Conference on Biodiversity.
16. (ICOB-3), Antalya, Turkey, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, p.41.
17. Hornok, L. 1992. Cultivation and processing of medicinal plants. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
18. Khodambashi M., Bitaraf N., Hoshmand S.2012. Generation mean analysis for grain yield and its related traits in lentil. J. Agric. Sci. Technol., 14: 609-616.
19. Khorshidi, J., Mirahmadi, S.F. and Tabatabaei, M.F. 2010. Oil content and yield of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. cv. Soroksary seeds as affected by different plant cultivation densities. J. Sustain. Agr., 6.
20. Lal, R.K. 2007. Associations among Agronomic Traits and Path Analysis in Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Miller). J. Sustain. Agr., 30: 21-29.
21. Moura, L.S., Carvalhojr R.N., Stefanini, M.B., Ming, L.C. and Meireles, M.A.A. 2005. Supercritical fluid extraction from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare): global yield, composition and kinetic data. J. Supercrit. Fluid., 35: 212-219.
22. Olle, M., Bender, I. and Koppe, R. 2010. The content of oils in Umbelliferous crops and its formation. Agron. Res., 8: 687-696.
23. Parejo, I., Viladomat, F., Bastida, J., Schmeda-Hirschmann, G., Burillo, J. and Codina, C. 2004. Bioguided isolation and identification of the nonvolatile antioxidant compounds from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) waste. J. Agr. Food. Chem., 52: 1890-1897.
24. Rose, L.W., Das, M.K., Fuentes, R.G. and Taliaferro, C.M. 2007. Effects of high-vs. low-yield environments on selection for increased biomass yield in switchgrass. Euphytica., 156: 407-415.
25. Schwartz, B.M., Kenworthy, K.E., Engelke, M.C., Genovesi, A.D. and Quesenberry, K.H. 2009. Heritability Estimates for Turfgrass Performance and Stress Response in Zoysia spp. Crop Sci., 49: 2113.
26. Songsri, P., Jogloy, S., Kesmala, T., Vorasoot, N., Akkasaeng, C., Patanothai, A. and Holbrook, C.C. 2008. Heritability of Drought Resistance Traits and Correlation of Drought Resistance and Agronomic Traits in Peanut. Crop. Sci., 48: 2245-2253.
27. Stefanini, M.B., Ming, L.C., Marques, M.O.M., Facanali, R., Meireles, M.A.A., Moura, L.S., Marchese, J.A. and Sousa, L.A. 2006. Essential oil constituents of different organs of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare). Rev. Bras. Pl. Med. Botucatu., 8: 193-198.
 
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 15, Issue 6
November and December 2013
Pages 1275-1283