Heterosis for fruit yield and quality traits of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Kherwa, Radhe Shyam

Heterosis for fruit yield and quality traits of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

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761.pdf (2.91 MB)

Date

2017-07

Authors

Kherwa, Radhe Shyam

Publisher

Department of Horticulture (Vegetable and Floriculture), BAU, Sabour

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) belongs to the family Solanaceae and is the fourth most economically important crop in the world after rice, wheat, and soybean. In India tomato occupies an area of 0.89 million hectares and having the production of 18.74, million tonnes (Anonymous, 2015). Hybrids are important due to high yield and uniformity and breeders are in look out for new hybrids. Heterosis and specific combining ability are good source for better hybrid selection while the general combining ability for the selecting to better combiner parent useful in breeding proposes. A half diallel mating scheme was adopted to develop 21 hybrids in autumn-winter season of 2015-16 and the hybrids along with the seven parents and one checks were evaluated in RCBD with three replications in the autumn-winter season of 2016-17 to accomplish the objectives: to estimate the extent of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance, to estimate the extent of heterosis and combining ability for yield and quality contributing traits and to study the association of different characters and their direct and indirect effect with fruit yield and quality components in tomato. On the basis of mean performance the earliest flowering was observed in Pusa Rohini × H-86 and highest fruit yield was found in H-86 x Arka Vikash followed by H-86 x Arka Abha and Pusa Rohini x Arka Vikash. Among all hybrids, highest TSS (%) was observed in Arka Vikash x Arka Abha and Lycopene Content (mg/100g FW) in CLNB x Arka Abha. High broad sense heritability was observed for all characters except for days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, first fruit setting and fruits per plant. However, high genetic advance in percent of mean was found in all characters except days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to first fruit setting and TSS (%). Pusa Rohini x Arka Vikash possessed high significant BPH (66.54%) and SH (60.45%) for total fruit yield, while Arka Vikash x Arka Abha possessed high significant standard heterosis for total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, carotenoids content while Pusa Rohini x CLNB has high significant standard heterosis for phenol content, antioxidant and lycopene content. On GCA basis, H-86 is better for fruit yield per plant and total fruit yield and Pusa Rohini for earliness as well as Arka Vikash and CLNB for most of the biochemical parameters. On SCA basis, Pusa Rohini x Arka Vikash is best for fruit yield and Pusa Rohini × CLNB and Arka Vikash x Arka Abha are best for most of the biochemical parameters. Kayess et al. (2017) and Basavaraj et al. (2015) reported similar findings for heterosis and combining ability in tomato. The characters which are positively significant associated with fruit yield are Average fruit weight, primary branches per plant, Fruit size, Days to first flowering, Days to 50% flowering, Polar fruit diameter, Equatorial fruit diameter, Phenols content however fruit yield is negatively and significant associated with TSS content. On the basis of findings the genotypes viz., H-86, CLNB and Pusa Rohini have better general combining ability moreover, the crosses viz., H-86 x Arka Vikash, Arka Vikash x Arka Abha and Pusa Rohini x CLNB are better performing hybrids for yield and quality contributing traits and can be used in future tomato improvement programme for high yield and quality.