Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance Analysis in Advance Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Breeding Lines

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) holds significant importance as one of the leading cereal crops in the world, serving as a primary source of food. The genetic improvement of any breeding population largely depends on the amount of genetic variability present in a crop species. The current study was undertaken to obtain information of important genetic variability parameters in a set of fifty genotypes. The experiment was conducted at the farm of Wheat and Maize research Unit, Parbhani (Maharashtra) during Rabi season 2023-24. The genotypes were grown in randomized block design with two replications and data were collected on ten morphological traits. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters studied, indicating availability of wide range of variability among the genotypes. The estimation of genotypic coefficient of variance were found to be high for number of grains per spike, number of productive tillers/plant, grain yield/plant, 1000 grain weight. Heritability estimates were highest for number of grains per spike followed by days to 50% heading, grain yield/plant and spike length. The estimates of genetic advance as % of mean were highest for number of grains/spike, number of productive tillers/plant, grain yield/plant, and harvest index. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent mean was observed for number of productive tillers per plant, number of grains per spike, grain yield per plant which suggested that selection for these characters would be more effective for desired genetic improvement.