Study of Evaluation of Genetic Variability of Gladiolus Cultivars under Agro-climatic Conditions of Prayagraj, India

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to “Study of Evaluating Genetic Variability of Gladiolus (Gladilous grandiflorus L.) Cultivars Under Agro –Climatic conditions of Prayagraj” was conducted at the Departmental research field of Horticulture, Naini, Agriculture Institute during Rabi season of 2022-2023. The experiment involved 15 cultivars arranged in randomized block design with three replication. The analysis of the data showed that  phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all characters studied, indicating that environmental factors had a significant influence on these characters. Several traits, including number of leaves at 30DAS, corm yield per plant, number of cormels per hectare, cormel diameter, number of corms per hectare, and number of corms per plant, exhibited high PCV and GCV. Furthermore, the study found high heritability coupled with high genetic advance as a percentage of the mean for traits such as the number of leaves at 30DAS, corm yield per plant, number of cormels per hectare, cormel diameter, number of corms per hectare, and number of corms per plant. This suggests that these traits are under strong genetic control and have the potential for effective selection and improvement. Moreover, positive and highly significant correlations were observed between corm yield per plant (in grams) and various other traits, including the number of leaves at 30DAS, 60DAS, and 90DAS, number of shoots per plant, days to first flowering, rachis length, number of florets per spike, number of spikes per plant, floret length, floret diameter, number of corms per plant, corm diameter, weight of corm, number of corms per hectare, and number of cormels per hectare. These correlations indicate that these traits have a strong influence on corm yield. Based on the study's results, genotypes Yellow stone, followed by Joshka, Pusa suhagan, and Arka Naveen, were identified as high spike and corm-yielding genotypes under the agro-climatic conditions of Prayagraj.Overall, the study highlights the significant impact of environmental factors on the observed traits and provides valuable insights into the selection of gladiolus genotypes with desirable characteristics for cultivation in the Prayagraj region.