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The objective of this study was to assess genotype by environment interaction for seed yield in rapeseed cultivars grown in West Poland by the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction model. The study comprised 25 rapeseed genotypes (15 F 1 CMS ogura hybrids, their parental lines and two varieties: Californium and Hercules F 1), analyzed in five localities through field trials arranged in a randomized complete block design, with four replicates. Seed yield of the tested genotypes varied from 15.9 to 80.99 dt/ha throughout the five environments/localities, with an average of 39.69 dt/ha. In the variance analysis, 69.82 % of the total yield variation was explained by environment, 13.67 % by differences between genotypes, and 8.15 % by genotype by environment interaction. Seed yield is highly influenced by environmental factors. Due to high influence of the environment on yield high adaptability of the genome is required.

In the allotetraploid, Festuca pratensis Huds. (2n = 4x = 28) x Lolium perenne L. (2n = 4x = 28) the balance of chromatin, as determined by GISH, changes over successive generations of open pollination in favour of L. perenne. There is extensive recombination between chromosomes of the two parental genomes, as well as substitution of whole Festuca chromosomes by whole Lolium chromosomes. The total number of Lolium chromosomes increased from a mean 14.36 in the F(2) to 16.26 in the F(6), and the total number of Festuca chromosomes decreased correspondingly from a mean of 13.57 to a value of 11.56. The number of recombinant chromosomes and recombination breakpoints per genotype also increased from generation to generation, although the respective values of both characters were higher for Festuca (0.86-8.41 and 1.14-15.22) than for Lolium (0.68-4.59 and 0.68-6.0). The proportion of total genome length contributed by the L. perenne chromatin increased from about 50% in F(2) to 59.5% in F(6). The results are based on the sample of 134 plants studied (26-28 plants per generation), and are discussed in terms of the dominance of Lolium chromosomes over those of Festuca, and possible mechanisms underlying this phenomenon of chromatin substitution.

The aim of this study was to assess genotype by environment interaction for seed quality traits in interspecific cross-derived Brassica lines by the additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model. The study comprised of 25 winter rapeseed genotypes i.e.: B. napus cultivar Californium, twenty three cross-derived Brassica lines and male sterile line of an F 8 generation of B. napus (MS8), selected from resynthesized oilseed rape (B. rapa ssp. chinensis 9 B. oleracea var. gemmifera) using in vitro cultures of isolated embryos. Field trials were performed at three locations in 3 years in a randomized complete block design, with three replicates. AMMI analyses revealed significant genotype and environmental effects as well as genotype by environmental interaction with respect to all five observed traits. The lines 16 (B. napus line MS8 9 B. rapa ssp. pekinensis) and 7 (B. napus line MS8 9 B. carinata) are recommended for further inclusion in the breeding programs because their stability and good average values of observed traits, except total glucosinolates content for line 16 (the best total genotype selection indexes were equal to 81 and 97, respectively).

Herbivore damage and mechanical injury to leaves can stimulate the emission of volatile compounds. It is well known that emission of these volatile organic compounds (VOC) from plants can influence interactions with pests and their natural enemies. In our experiment, we studied the VOC responses of Triticum aestivum cv. ‘Bombona’, Avena sativa cv. ‘Deresz’ and Hordeum vulgare cv. ‘Rastik’ under mechanical injury and/or adult cereal leaf beetle herbivory, Oelema melanopus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). In the first part of our experiment, we confirmed that increased amounts of several green leaf volatiles (GLVs) and terpene VOC were released by tested cereal plants after leaf injury. The quantities of multiple induced VOC varied significantly between our tested cereals. When undamaged wheat, barley and oat plants were positioned near to mechanically injured or insect‐damaged wheat plants, these neighbouring uninjured plants of all three test cereals also emitted significantly more VOC than control plants. The degree of VOC induction was significantly greater when an uninjured plant was closer to an injured wheat plant. This phenomenon may be useful for crop protection, as VOC manipulation may result in improved pest management and help reduce the use of harmful pesticides.

This study compares the susceptibility of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars to Fusarium head blight (FHB) and accumulation of mycotoxins in kernels and chaff under different climatic conditions in two locations-Cerekwica near Poznan (Central West Poland) and Sitaniec, near Zamosc, Lublin region (South East Poland). Very high variations were found in the concentrations of mycotoxins (zearalenone, ZEA; nivalenol, NIV; deoxynivalenol, DON; moniliformin, MON) in examined fractions: Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) and healthy looking kernels (HLK) and in chaff for individual cultivars in both locations. In most cases, significantly higher concentrations of investigated toxins were recorded in wheat from the area of Lublin than from Poznan (p < 0.05). The highest Fusarium infection rates and mycotoxin biosynthesis levels were observed in the Lublin location, with the percentage of the FDK fraction ranging 8.1-81.6. In this region, ZEA concentration (microg g(-1)) after inoculation with F. culmorum and F. graminearum ranged from 0.02-0.48 and 0.32-1.04, respectively. In the Poznan area, the toxin concentrations were considerably lower, ranging 0.01-0.10 and 0.03-0.13 microg g(-1) for both isolates, respectively. The concentration of DON was significantly higher than ZEA or NIV levels. The levels of MON accumulation (microg g(-1)) in the FDK fraction were between 0.14 and 1.73 (Poznan area) and ND (not detected) to 2.51 (Lublin area). F. avenaceum infection rate ranged 7-35% in samples where the toxin was detected.

Quantitative trait loci for yield, yield components and seed protein content were investigated on the basis of experiments performed with two populations of pea (Pisum sativum L.) lines derived from linked crosses between lines Wt11238, Wt3557 and Wt10245 with contrasting characteristics. The yield-related traits were defined as components giving the grain yield in a multiplicative way. The aim was to clarify the genetic architecture of the relation between seed yield, its components and protein content, with a possible inclusion of the role of epistasis in this explanation. To take full advantage of the availability of the two populations, additive QTL effects and both types of epistasis were analysed: the QTL by genetic background interaction and the first-order QTL-QTL interaction. The two hybrid populations differed with respect to the prevailing gene action, which in the Wt11238 9 Wt3557 progeny was mainly additive, while in the Wt10245 9 Wt11238 progeny mainly epistatic. Some loci with previously reported, large, repeatable, but contradictory effects on yield and protein content were confirmed. New loci with alleles coming from the protein-rich Wt11238 line, positive for yield components, were identified. It was found that the first order QTL-QTL interaction events were more frequent for the loci showing the QTL by genetic background interaction.