Line X tester analysis for heterosis and combining ability using male sterility in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench)

Abstract

Thirty F1 hybrids obtained from crossing five lines and six testers in a line x tester mating design were evaluated along with their parents and their performance for yield and yield components along with Yellow Vein mosaic virus resistance in Okra. The estimation of gca effects of all 11 parents revealed that IIHR-MS-5 and IIHR-MS-2 showed the highest positive significant effects and were good combiner for plant height, number of fruits per plants, marketable yield, total yield per plant and fruit weight. IIHR-MS-5 had highest gca for number of branches per plant, fruit length and fruit girth. Among the testers the magnitude of gca effects for high marketable yield, total yield per plant, plant height, node at which first flower appearance and fruit girth was high in the Arka Anamika. Parbhani Kranti had high gca for fruit weight, fruit length and number of ridges. Significant sca effect in desirable direction was noticed in the cross combinations in IIHR- MS- 5 X 120-11-8-1 for days to first flower appearance and the cross IIHR-MS- 1 X 116-12-23-6 for days to first fruit picking. In cross IIHR-MS-2 X Arka Anamika had significant sca effect for number of branches per plant. The per se performance of IIHRMS- 2 X Arka Anamika showed higher magnitude of sca with 313.7 g marketable yield per plant. Thus, cross having high per se performance for marketable yield and highly significant sca effect. Therefore, sca effect for marketable yield could consider the basis for selection of crosses. All the crosses with significant sca effect for different characters had positive heterosis. In majority of crosses, high sky effect was due to high X high and high X or low X high cross combinations, indicating the importance of additive X additive and additive X dominance or dominance X additive type of interaction. The hybrid IIHR–MS-2 X Arka Anamika and IIHR-MS-5 X Parbhani Kranti can be exploited commercially for marketable yield, more number of fruits per plant and earliness.