Selection of sugar cane full-sib families using mixed models and ISSR markers.

In 2006, an experiment examining families belonging to the first selection stage of the Sugar Cane Breeding Program of Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro/Rede Interuniversitária para o Desenvolvimento do Setor Sucroalcooleiro was conducted. Families and plants within families were evaluated to select superior plants for subsequent stages of the breeding program. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design, in which progenies were grouped into 4 sets, each with 4 replicates and 100 seedlings per plot. The following traits were evaluated: average stem diameter, total plot weight, number of stems, Brix of the lower stem, and Brix of the upper stem. The study of families used the restricted maximum likelihood/best linear unbiased procedure mixed models. After selection, families were genotyped via inter-simple sequence repeat to assess the genetic distance of genotypes. This approach was found to be efficient for selecting new genotypes.