ABSTRACT:
During the growing season of cabbage, several harvests may be carried out. Thus, establishing the minimum number of measurements for a reliable selection of superior genotypes is necessary. This research aimed to estimate the minimum number of measurements for selecting cabbage clones with greater efficiency and reliability through the repeatability study. The experiment was carried out at Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri using randomized block design with 27 genotypes of cabbage, four replications and five individuals per plot. During 10 weeks we evaluated weekly the following parameters: plant height, stem diameter, length and width of the leaf blade, number of marketable leaves, number of total leaves and number of shoots. We used analysis of variance methods, principal components analysis and structural analysis in study of repeatability. The characteristics studied showed high values for estimating the coefficient of repeatability. Only three harvests are sufficient to permit reliable selection of the best genotypes for all traits.
Keywords:
Brassica oleracea var. acephala; number of evaluations; number of measurements; multivariate analysis.
