Analysis of accumulation of cadmium in seeds of selected breeding linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) genotypes cultivated for medicinal purposes

Summary The objective of the study was genetic and breeding screening of selected varieties and hybrids of oil flax for in-seed cadmium fixing ability. Seven parental varieties as well as nineteen F 1 and F 2 hybrids were analyzed. The varieties were crossed in di-allelic scheme, according to the Griffing method II. Significant differences were found in the activity of fixing cadmium from the soil between analysed flax parental forms and hybrids. High variability of tested genotypes, calculated by the variance coefficient, was observed in F 1 generation. The variability of tested genotypes in the F 2 generation was two times lower. The analysis of general combining ability (GCA) showed that Chinese cultivar Shanxi reduced significantly the fixing cadmium from the soil in combinations of F 1 generation crossing. However, the effects of the specific combining ability (SCA) of tested hybrids to reduce the cadmium content in seeds were statistically insignificant. The analysis of genetic components variance showed no significance both in domination and cumulative genes which suggests a complex inheritance pattern of the tested trait.