Comparing results of different genetic diversity estimates can be useful in parental selection for plant breeders. Forty winter wheat cultivars, from three Croatian breeding centres and four foreign countries, were used to utilize and compare agronomic, morphologic and molecular based genetic diversity estimates. Ten morphologic descriptors according to UPOV guidelines and eight agronomic traits were used to establish phenotypic data. Molecular data consisted of 26 SSR and four combinations of AFLP markers, covering all three wheat genomes. Agromorphologic data showed variability especially regarding plant height (CV=18.44%), yield (CV=22.02%), and ear emergence (range=8). Discriminant analysis confirmed grouping among cultivars was mostly influenced by number of days to heading and yield. The four AFLP primer combinations and 26 SSR markers yielded 108 polymorphic bands. The UPGMA based on phenotypic data, arranged cultivars in four clusters, with one distinctive outlier, cultivar U1. The UPGMA based on molecular data also arranged cultivars in four clusters, with one distinctive outlier, cultivar Antonius. The similarities based on all four genetic diversity estimates reflected, on average, the degree of relatedness of cultivars used. No correlations between phenotypic and molecular data were found implying that both types of data should be used for genetic diversity estimates in order to cover wider variability between tested cultivars.

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR spectroscopy) has been used in analytics for more than 50 years. The aim of this review is to present statistical indicators of the developed calibration models for predicting forage chemical composition by NIR spectroscopy, which have been published over the last 15 years. This paper presents statistics for predicting of forage dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), ash, and pH value of forage at different pre-scan processing level (fresh, dried / ground forage) and different forage types such as grass monocultures, legumes, grass-clover mixtures (GCM), semi-natural pasture, straw, maize, hay, silage and haylage. Due to wider applicability of NIR calibration model for prediction of chemical composition of forage, the development of calibration includes forage originating from various agricultural production technologies, cultivation climates, varieties and vegetation seasons, etc. In order to develop more reliable calibration models for prediction of forage chemical composition, calibrations are developed for individual plant species, cultivars, harvest during the vegetation season, as well as for individual microclimates of cultivation. NIR spectroscopy has high potential for predicting the content of DM, CP, NDF, ADF, ash and pH value in forage.

The field pea breeding at the Agricultural Institute Osijek has primarily been aimed at continued development of new cultivar types with high yield, potential early group maturity and resistance to lodging. Letin is a new semi-leafless -winter field pea (Pisum sativum) with purple flowers and a mottled light brown seed coat. Semileafless and leafed genotypes were evaluated for plant height, lodging, maturity, forage yield and quality in two locations. The forage yield of pea genotypes has an average of 32.21 t*ha -1 . Higher yield was obtained from semi-leafless genotype (34.48 t*ha -1 ). The leafed genotype has achieved better nutritive characteristics. The obtained results point to a need for new tests and the possible introduction of semileafless cultivars in the production as a pea-cereal mixture or as pure crops to be utilized by cutting.KEYWORD: field pea, semi-leafless, yield, lodging SAŽETAKOplemenjivački rad na poljskom grašku na Poljoprivrednom institutu Osijek prvenstveno je usmjeren na stvaranje i razvoj novih tipova kultivara s visokim potencijalom prinosa, rane grupe zrelosti i tolerantnosti na polijeganje. Letin je novi bezlisni tip ozimog poljskog graška (Pisum sativum) s tamnocrvenim cvijetom i šarene svijetlo smeñe sjemene ovojnice. Bezlisni i lisni genotipovi ispitani su na visinu biljaka, rezultate polijeganja, zrelost, prinos zelene mase i kvalitetu na dva lokaliteta. Prinos mase testiranih genotipova graška u prosjeku je iznosio 32,21 t*ha -1 , veći prinos dobiven je s bezlisnim genotipom (34,48 t*ha -1 ). Lisni genotip ostvario je bolje nutritivne vrijednosti. Dobiveni rezultati ukazuju na potrebu za novim testiranjima te moguće uvoñenje bezlisnih kultivara u proizvodnju kao mješavinu grašak-žitarice ili čistih kultura za košnju.

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In this study, genetic variability was investigated among 50 winter wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum L.) which are grown in parts of Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia according to 22 morphological characteristics used for DUS (distinctness, uniformity and stability) testing. The average Dice similarity coefficient was 0.371. The determined similarity coefficient was in range 0.083 - 0.776. A significant variability of 6.21% in the breeding programs according to period was determined as well as significant variability of 3.10% between breeding programs. The UPGMA clustering divided investigated varieties into four main clusters. Based on data analysis, most distant varieties with best morphological characteristics were found which will provide valuable resource of new parent's combinations in future breeding programs. This paper also provided valuable assessment of morphological characteristics to define distinctness criteria in the DUS examination of wheat.