Evaluation of General and Specific Combining Ability for Yield and its Attributing Traits in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

In order to investigate the general and specific combining ability (GCA and SCA) and gene action for yield and its contributing traits in common wheat, 10 lines and 4 testers were crossed using line × tester mating design at the Crop Research Center of SVP University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India. The experimental material was raised under Randomized Block Design with three repetitions during rabi season of 2019–20 and 2020–21. The variance due to cross vs parent was highly significant for all the traits. Estimates of SCA variance for harvest index, plant height, biological yield per plant, 1000 grain weight, days to 50% blooming, grain yield per plant, days to maturity and number of productive tillers per plant, were higher than those of GCA variance, depicting the prevalence of non-additive gene action. GCA variance was found to be higher than SCA variance for the remaining characteristics, reflecting additive gene action. Based on GCA four parents were found promising (UP1109, DBW187, HD3237, PBW226, RAJ3777). On the basis of SCA, 9 crosses (HD3237 × WR544, RAJ 3777 × HD3086, DBW187 × HD3086, DBW187 × PBW226, K9162 × WH1105, PBW373 × WH1105, K9162 × PBW226, UP2628 × WR544, UP1109 × PBW226) were identified good specific combiner for grain yield per plant. In present study non-additive type of gene action was more pronounced, which can be utilized by pedigree method, biparental mating and selection in later generation.