Heterosis Studies for Grain Yield and Yield Components in Rabi Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.]

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to assess the magnitude of heterosis of rabi sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) developed by crossing four lines and twelve testers (in a line × tester design) to produce 48 F1 cross combinations at the Sorghum Improvement Project, MPKV., Rahuri, Maharashtra. To identify the high-yielding Rabi sorghum hybrids, promising hybrids were sorted out based on positive significant standard heterosis for grain yield per plant. A total of twenty-one hybrids exhibited significant standard heterosis for grain yield per plant. The best cross combination was 104A x RSR 1012 (86.59%) for maximum standard heterosis, followed by the cross 104A X RSR 1019 (73.17%) and 104 A X RSR 1003 (70.73%) for grain yield per plant. Heterosis has been considered a well-proven method for increasing yield and improving traits in crops, and the exploitation of heterosis for the hybrid development programme is considered one of the greatest breakthroughs in plant breeding.