Early selection of potato clones has been evaluated for many decades with the aim of discriminating and selecting promising genotypes in the very beginning of the breeding program. In an attempt to surpass the low selection efficiency for characters with low heritability, efforts have been made in the evaluation of genetic progress using first generation families. The purposes of this study were to measure the interaction of families with the environments and to evaluate the efficiency of early generation selection of the families. Twenty-two families and two control cultivars were evaluated in three locations in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Combined analyses of variance were performed and estimates of correlations and genetic progress were obtained. Significant interaction of families x environments was observed only for the tuber specific weight. The expected genetic gain based on the selection of the environment average was more effective for the tuber yield. The expected genetic gain based on the selection of the environmental average was lower than the direct selection performed on each environment, but it allows the identification of broadly adapted families.
Solanum tuberosum L.; potato breeding; genetic progress
