Assessment of hard red winter wheat F-2 and F-3 hybrids for the Nebraska Panhandle
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abstract
Although hybrid wheat [Triticum aestivum (L.)] has shown yield superiority over pure-line cultivars across the Nebraska Panhandle, concerns about additional costs to attain that superiority remain. The use of 'farmer-saved' seed from hybrid generation seed has been suggested to reduce production costs. F1 and derived F2 and F3 hybrid generations along with 11 pure-line cultivars of hard red winter wheat were grown in the Nebraska Panhandle in 1991-1993 to evaluate the performance of F2 and F3 hybrids in the region. Grain yield of F1 hybrids was 10% higher than yield of the cultivars, but yield of F2 and F3 hybrids were 12% and 6% lower than the yield of the cultivars, respectively, and yield differences between F1 and F2 and between F1 and F3 were equivalent, respectively, to 22% and 6% of the cultivar-group mean. Segregation for male sterility in the F2 generation might be responsible for the greater decline in yield in F2. Test weight of F2 and F3 hybrids were 2% and 1% lower than the observed value for the cultivars, respectively. Compared to pure lines, protein concentration was 2% and 1% higher in the F2 and F3 hybrids, respectively, and differences between F1 and F2 and between F1 and F3 were in both cases equivalent to more than 6% of the cultivar-group mean. The results indicate that production of advanced generation hybrid wheat in the Nebraska Panhandle should not be recommended.
