Study of genetic parameters and character association in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out with an objective of assessing the genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for thirteen quantitative characters and interrelationship among them. Thirty-six wheat genotypes were evaluated in RBD with three replications. The ANOVA revealed highly significant variation among the genotypes, indicating the presence of ample amount of variability which can be exploited for selection of characters for crop improvement programme. GCV was observed highest in case of days to emergence followed by biological yield and awn length. Characters with high estimates of variance like plant height, number of grains per spike, harvest index and biological yield can be considered in selection for improvement of the crop species. Heritability in broad sense was observed highest for hundred grain weight followed by days to emergence and length of spike, whereas, genetic Advance as a percent of mean was found maximum in case of days to emergence followed by biological yield and awn length. Grain yield showed highly significant positive correlation with biological yield and significant positive correlation with harvest index however it showed significant and negative corr. with tillers per plant. On the basis of study, the most promising donors for grain yield were found viz., WP710/17, TALL-2, WP705/17 and WP708/17. These genotypes can be used for further breeding programme to improve the yield potential of the variety.