Vol. 12, Issue 5 (2023)

Author(s):
Y Madhavi, RVSK Reddy, C Sreenivasa Reddy, A Rajani and N Ratna Kumari

Abstract:
The present investigation “Exploitation of heterosis and combining ability for yield, quality and processing in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L).” was carried out during rabi, 2010-11 and kharif, 2011 at Vegetable Research Station, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad to study the heterosis. Six lines (EC-165749, LE-56, LE-62, LE-64, LE-65 and LE-67) were crossed with three testers (Punjab Chhuhara, Pant T-3 and Pusa Gaurav) in line x tester mating design. The resultant 18 F₁’s were evaluated along with their parents and two standard checks (Lakshmi and US-618) for the characters viz., plant height (cm), number of primary branches per plant, days to 50% flowering, number of fruits per cluster, average fruit weight (g) and fruit yield per plant (kg). Studies on heterosis revealed that majority of the hybrids exhibited relative heterosis, heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis in desirable direction. The potential crosses like LE-56 × Pant T-3, LE-56 × Pusa Gaurav, LE-64 × Punjab chhuhara and LE-56 × Punjab chhuhara exhibited high standard heterosis for fruit yield per plant, which offers scope for commercial exploitation through heterosis breeding.