Abstract
Frost stress causes a significant damage to winter faba bean yield. Root traits
of faba bean seedlings play an important role in resistance to frost tolerance.
The main objective was to study the genetic variation in root traits of faba bean
seedlings after frost stress. A set of 208 diverse genotypes was tested. The
experiments were conducted in a Frost Growth Chamber (FGCh). Root frost
susceptibility (RFS), root fresh matter (RFM), and root dry matter (RDM) were
scored on all plants after frost stress. A selection index was calculated to improve
RFS using RDM and RFM. The results revealed a high genetic variation was
found between all genotypes for all traits scored. The repeatability estimates
was ranged from 0.52 (RDM) to 0.60 (RFM). Such a high genetic variation and
repeatability estimated could be used for selection to improve frost tolerance in
winter faba bean through breeding programs.
Keywords: Faba bean, Frost tolerance, Roots, Selection index