A novel method of identifying genetic markers linked to alleles conferring yield potential of a crop species has been developed. By conducting genetic marker analysis of a set of current elite lines and the ancestral population from which they were derived by decades of plant breeding, one can determine and compare the expected and observed allele frequencies within elite populations at numerous polymorphic loci. Since the traditional plant breeding effort has consistently utilized yield as a selection criteria, deviations from expected allele frequency at certain loci have been used to identify alleles that confer yield potential. Agronomically superior progeny can, therefore, be selected utilizing genetic markers.
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