Journal of Experimental Agriculture International

The genetic parameters provide indispensable information about the genetic behavior of the study population regarding the characters evaluated, providing subsidy to the breeder on the decision about the best selection method to adopt in order to realize a genetic gain and maintain adequate variability. In this sense, the present study was carried out to verify the reaction and to estimate genetic parameters of a population of coriander composed of two cultivars (Verdão and HTV Dom Luiz) and 49 half-siblings progenies parasitized by Meloidogyne incognita race 1. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in the Department of Agronomy of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. The 51 cultivars and progenies were arranged in a randomized block design with four replicates and each experimental plot was composed of eight plants. The sowing was carried out in a tray of 128 cell- expanded polystyrene filled with commercial substrate, 1,000 eggs/cell of the pathogen were inoculated on the same day of sowing. After 30 days of inoculation, the number of galls was quantified in the root system, the pathogen’s eggs were extracted and, after the quantification of the eggs, the reproduction factor was estimated for each genotype. Data of the three characteristics were compared by Scott-Knott clustering test, then classified as resistant or susceptible, and genetic parameters estimated. The genotypes differed from each other at 1% probability level for all the characters under study. Heritabilities were high and positive with values ​​of 75.91 for number of galls in the root system and 96.72 for the number of eggs. Based on the phenotypic and genotypic correlations, it was possible to select desired genotypes based on the number of galls in the initial selection cycles, making selection and recombination possible in the same cycle. Twelve (12) progenies were selected for their resistance to the pathogen.