Vol. 11, Issue 9 (2022)

Author(s):
A Thamizhiniyan, R Chandirakala, A Yuvaraja and S Vellaikumar

Abstract:
Sorghum is an important tropical crop, which is a major food crop in poor parts of the world. A study was conducted to identify the best performing genotypes in F₄ generation of Red sorghum cross viz., Paiyur 2 X Kottathur local-5 through variability and association analyses. Thirteen quantitative traits from 200 plants were recorded i.e., days to fifty percent flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width, stem girth, number of primary branches per panicle, panicle length without peduncle, panicle width, panicle weight, test weight and single plant yield. Variability analysis revealed that low level of variation was observed for plant height, number of leaves, leaf length, days to maturity, days to fifty percent flowering and panicle weight while a moderate level of PCV and GCV values were recorded for traits like leaf width, stem girth, panicle length, panicle width, number of primary branches, test weight and single plant yield. High heritability accompanied with high genetic advance was observed for leaf width, stem girth, panicle length, panicle width, number of primary branches, test weight and single plant yield. Association analysis revealed that plant height was positively correlated with number of leaves, stem girth and single plant yield. Days to maturity was positively correlated with single plant yield and Test weight was positively correlated with panicle width. Panicle weight, number of primary branches per panicle and test weight were also positively correlated with single plant yield. Pathway estimates illustrated that days to maturity hold the highest positive direct effect followed by number of leaves, number of primary branches per panicle, test weight and panicle length.