Vol. 11, Issue 12 (2022)

Author(s):
Waikhom Jupiter Singh, R Kandasamy and E Arivazhagan

Abstract:
The present study was undertaken to identify potential parents and superior cross combinations for yield and its yield attributing traits. Twenty-one hybrids were generated by crossing with seven genotypes, namely AE7- Pudukottai Local (L₁), AE21- Sivagangai Local (L₂), AE13- Dharmapuri Local (L₃), AE6- Karaikudi Local (L₄), AE9- Cuddalore Local (L₅), AE20- Thiruchirappalli Local (L₆) and AE3- Madurai Local (L₇) and three testers Parbhani Kranti (T₁), Arka Anamika (T₂) and Punjab Padmini (T₃) along with parents for studying of heterosis, days to first flowering, plant height, number of branches per plant, fruit length, fruit girth, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight and fruit yield per plant during 2013-2015 at Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, in a Randomized Block Design with three replications. The magnitude of heterosis varied from cross to cross for all characters. The minimum days to first flowering was observed in parent L₄ and cross L₅ x T₁, whereas the highest plant height was found in parent T₃ and cross L₇ x T₃, number of branches per plant in parent L₃ and cross L₇ x T₃, fruit length in parent T₃ and cross L₂ x T₃, fruit girth in parent T₂ and cross L₇ x T₃, number of fruits per plant in L₂ and cross L₂ x T₂, average fruit weight in L₃ and cross L₇ x T₃ and fruit yield per plant in L3 and cross L₇ x T₃. Thirteen crosses showed significant heterosis for fruit yield per plant, in which maximum heterobeltiosis (36.72 %) and standard heterosis (44.72 %) were found in L₄ x T₂ and relative heterosis (74.24 %) in L₅ x T₂. The highest significant and positive relative heterosis value (38.21 %) and heterobeltiosis value (25.47 %) were expressed by the hybrids L₆ x T₁ and L7 x T₁, respectively. In contrast, the hybrid L₂ x T₃ showed the highest and positive standard heterosis value (62.86 %) for number of fruits per plant.