Combining Ability Analysis for Various Characters in Brown Sarson (Brassica campestris L.)

Abstract

The combining ability studies made over environments (sowing dates) for nine characters in brown sarson using “9×3” line × tester set revealed both general combining ability (gca) and specific combining ability (sea) components were significant for all the evaluated characters, viz., plant height, main shoot length, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, number of siliqua on main shoot, siliqua length, seeds per siliqua, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant. Both gca and sea effects were influenced by environments. The parents, Pusa Kalyani, BSH-1, DBS-1 and BSIK-1 having been observed as good general combiners for seed yield and other yield influencing traits also, offer the best possibilities of exploitation for the development of improved lines. The cross combination “BSIK-1 × BSIK-2” and “BSC-199 × BSH-1” were observed to be the best crosses and are expected to throw transgressive segregants and need exploitation in breeding programmes. Both additive and non-additive gene effects played role in the inheritance of different traits.