Heterosis and agronomic performance of raspberry families

Objective: to study the heterosis and agronomic performance of raspberry F1 families derived from open-pollinated parents, and to investigate the heterotic relationships between yield and its components. Design/methodology/approach: A total of thirty-five genotypes, including eight open-pollinated raspberry cultivars, their 28 F1 families, and one check, were evaluated for vegetative and fruit traits. The trial was carried out under a randomized block design and under open field conditions. Results: Mid-parent heterosis ranged from -94.83 to 311.67 %, whereas the better parent heterosis values varied from -94.26 to 235.00 %. We observed that the heterosis values for yield had a strong and positive correlation (r = 0.89) with the heterosis values for number of fruits per plant. Limitations on study/implications: heterosis and performance of F1 families in raspberry would depend on the pedigree of parents as their relativeness is a key factor to exploit the heterosis in plants. Findings/conclusions: High values of heterosis were found in some raspberry crosses. Progeny derived from parents MU1 and TD865 showed considerable mid-parent heterosis and good performance for fruit size-related traits, soluble solids content, and yield, evidencing that both parents may be utilized as donor parents in a raspberry breeding program.