Euphytica 139: 95–104, 2004. C 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
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Genetic relatedness among eastern North American blackberry cultivars based on pedigree analysis Eric T. Stafne∗ & John R. Clark Department of Horticulture, 316 Plant Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, U.S.A.; (∗ author for correspondence: e-mail:
[email protected]) Received 11 November 2003; accepted 23 August 2004
Key words: fruit breeding, inbreeding, Rubus subgenus Rubus
Summary Blackberry genetic relationships (Rubus subgenus Rubus Watson) have not been thoroughly studied. The University of Arkansas maintains one of the largest blackberry-breeding programs in the world and thus, in-depth knowledge of the cultivars released from the program and others instrumental in their lineages can aid in breeding endeavors. Pedigrees of 32 cultivars were traced to their founding clones. Genetic contribution (GC), maximum potential similarity (MPS), inbreeding coefficient, and coefficients of relationship (CR) were calculated for all genotypes. Nineteen founding clones contributed to the 32 cultivars, ranging from
