Abstract
Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the genetic variability in Gossypium herbaceum (2n=2x=26) and identification of elite lines for future genetic improvement. Methodology: The seeds of G. herbaceum (cv. Wagad) was treated with 70 mM EMS to develop the mutant population. A set of 235 selected M3 mutant families were grown in a random block design (RBD). Genetic variability was evaluated for 14 agro-morphological traits. Results: ANOVA showed significant differences (P≤0.05) among the lines for all the traits. The phenotypic (PCV), genotypic coefficient of variability (GCV), heritability in broad sense (h2B%) and genetic advance (GA%) were found to be high for most of the traits. The trait association revealed that the biological yield per plant showed a positive and significant correlation with number of bolls/plant, plant height, leaf area, internodal distance, lint weight/plant and seed weight/plant. Path coefficients analysis confirmed that seed weight per plant had a significant role in the yield than other yield components. All the mutant lines were grouped into 16 clusters and exhibited considerable degree of genetic diversity. Interpretation: The advance mutant lines from distant clusters may be useful for further exploitation for genetic improvement and development of high yielding varieties.
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