Correlation and path analysis of fruit yield and yield attributing traits in tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.)

Abstract

Present study was conducted using twenty three tomato genotypes in Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications at Agriculture farm, Palli-Siksha-Bhavana (Institution of Agriculture) Visva-Bharati University, Sriniketan, West Bengal during winter (Rabi) season of 2016-17 to evaluate association of fruit yield and yield attributing trait in tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill). In order to find out the degree and direction of relationship of the yield contributing characters with yield and inter relationship between them, correlation analysis was carried out for all traits under investigation. Correlation analysis showed phenotypic and genotypic correlation for most of the character pairs were in same direction and genotypic estimates were higher than the phenotypic one, indicating inherent association between the characters. Average yield per plant showed highest positive association flower per plant (0.9512) and lowest positive association with plant height (0.2427). Highest negative association was found with no of secondary branch per plant (-0.0592) and lowest negative association with days to fifty percent flowering (-0.6553). The path coefficient analysis facilitates the partitioning of the correlation coefficients into different components of direct and indirect effects. Flower per plant exihibited highest positive direct effect (1.0383) on average yield per plant and days to fifty per cent flowering showed lowest positive direct effect (0.0159) on average yield per plant. The traits viz, number of secondary branches, full flowering, plant height, fruits per plant was shown to have positive direct effect over the yield per plant.