Studies on genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance in tomato

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out to estimate variability, heritability and genetic advance in diverse germplasm of tomato. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Thirty five genotypes including one check cultivar were evaluated for different horticultural traits. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were depicted for the characters like number of fruits per plant (51.80 and 50.00%), fruit yield per plant (52.18 and 51.10%), fruit yield per plot (53.21 and 51.91%), fruit yield per ha (53.21 and 51.91%) and plant height (36.85 and 36.38%). High heritability coupled with high genetic gain was recorded for number of fruits per plant (93.18 and 99.42%), plant height (97.45 and 73.98%), average fruit weight (95.11 and 50.09%), fruit yield per plant (95.89 and 103.00%), per plot (95.19 and 104.34%) and per hectare (95.19 and 104.34%). Hence, selection based on above characters can prove effective for improvement in yield. High heritability coupled with moderate genetic gain was observed for number of fruits per cluster, harvest duration and ascorbic acid content. Therefore, these characters also show some scope for improvement in yield through selection in tomato.