Genetic Variability in a Population of Oilseed Rape DH Lines Developed from F-1 Hybrids of a Cross between Black- and Yellow-Seeded DH Lines. II. Seed Quality

One of the main reasons for oilseed rape breeding is to improve the quality and composition of seeds by increasing fat and protein content, and to reduce dietary fibre. We attempted to obtain such varieties by crossing two DH lines of winter oilseed rape of different origin, H-2-26 and Z-114, which have black and yellow seeds, respectively. The cross was followed by in vitro androgenesis, resulting in a population of 44 DH lines that were studied in a field experiment over two seasons. The following characters of the resulting seeds were analysed: fat, protein, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, glucosinolate content and seed colour. The main objective was to check the variability of the DH lines obtained from F-1 hybrid black- and yellow-seeded oilseed rape. The range of variability of the DH lines significantly exceeded the range of variability of the parental lines for all traits. These experiments showed that by choosing the appropriate parental genotypes of oilseed rape it is possible to break the negative correlation between protein and fat content. The high level of heritability of traits related to seed quality raises the possibility of improving breeding lines through selection based on phenotype.