Jul 2026· Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology· 0 citations
Abstract
Genetic variability is the foundation of effective selection and crop improvement in wheat breeding programmes. Therefore, the present investigation was conducted during the Rabi season of 2023–24 at the Crop Research Centre, Jigyasa University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, to evaluate genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for yield and yield-contributing traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Thirty wheat genotypes were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replications. Observations were recorded for fifteen quantitative characters, including phenological traits, plant height, flag leaf area, productive tillers per plant, spike traits, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight and grain yield per plant. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among genotypes for plant height, flag leaf area, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, grain filling period, days to maturity and days to 50% heading, indicating the presence of substantial genetic variability for these traits. The phenotypic coefficient of variation was slightly higher than the corresponding genotypic coefficient of variation for all characters, suggesting a limited influence of environmental factors on trait expression. High heritability estimates were observed for plant height, flag leaf area, grains per spike, 1000-grain weight, spike weight per plant and grain yield per plant. Among these, plant height and flag leaf area also exhibited comparatively higher genetic advance as percent of mean, indicating their potential for effective improvement through selection. The findings suggest that these traits may serve as reliable selection criteria for developing high-yielding bread wheat genotypes under the agro-climatic conditions of the study area.
Genetic variability is the foundation of effective selection in crop improvement. Fifty rice germplasm lines were evaluated during the kharif season of 2025 at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Polasa, Jagtial, Telangana, India, using a randomised block design with two replications. Ten yield and milling-quality traits were assessed: days to 50% flowering, plant height, panicle length, productive tillers per plant, grains per panicle, 1000-grain weight, grain yield per plant, hulling percentage, milling percentage, and head rice recovery. Analysis of variance indicated highly significant differences among genotypes for all traits. Phenotypic coefficients of variation exceeded the corresponding genotypic coefficients for every trait, although the differences were generally small for days to 50% flowering, plant height, 1000-grain weight, head rice recovery, and grain yield per plant. High phenotypic and genotypic variability was observed for grains per panicle, head rice recovery, and grain yield per plant. Broad-sense heritability was high for nine traits and moderate for panicle length. High heritability accompanied by high genetic advance as a percentage of the mean was recorded for plant height, productive tillers per plant, grains per panicle, 1000-grain weight, head rice recovery, and grain yield per plant. These estimates identify traits with a favourable expected response to phenotypic selection within the evaluated material. Because the experiment was conducted in one season and one location, the stability of the estimates and the performance of individual germplasm lines should be confirmed through multi-environment evaluation before selections are advanced.
Muneeb Ahmed Naushad, K. Prasad, B. Srinivas et al.· International Journal of Pla...· 0 citations
Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an important cereal crop for food, feed and malting, and the exploitation of genetic variability is fundamental to developing high-yielding and stress-adapted cultivars. The present investigation was undertaken to assess the magnitude of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for yield and associated traits in barley under normal and sodic soil conditions. A total of 90 barley genotypes along with three checks (NDB1173, RD2907 and HUB113) were evaluated during the rabi seasons of 2024–25 and 2025–26 at Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, using an augmented block design under normal and sodic soil conditions. Ten quantitative traits, namely days to heading, days to maturity, plant height, tillers per plant, spike length, grains per spike, test weight, biological yield per plant, harvest index and grain yield per plant, were evaluated. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant genotypic differences for most traits under both environments, confirming substantial exploitable genetic variability. Under normal conditions, GCV ranged from 2.80% for days to maturity to 42.60% for grain yield, while PCV ranged from 3.07% to 43.17%; under sodic conditions, GCV ranged from 2.50% to 44.11% and PCV from 3.10% to 44.64%. Grain yield exhibited the highest heritability under both normal (97.39%) and sodic (97.65%) conditions. High heritability was also recorded for test weight (95.36% and 94.58%), grains per spike (94.62% and 93.83%) and biological yield (94.65% and 93.04%) under normal and sodic conditions, respectively. Grain yield also recorded the highest genetic advance as a percentage of the mean (GAM), with values of 86.74% under normal and 89.93% under sodic conditions, followed by biological yield (79.38 and 81.34%) and grains per spike (69.05 and 76.32%). High heritability coupled with high GAM for grain yield, biological yield, grains per spike, test weight and tillers per plant indicated a strong genetic component and substantial scope for selection. The study identified grain yield and its associated traits as effective selection criteria for improving productivity and adaptation of barley under both normal and sodic soil environments.
Piyush Mishra, P. Jaiswal, Banshidhar et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
Study of genetic variability and divergence among quantitative traits and their contribution to gain yield is prerequisite for wheat improvement programmes. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the genetic parameters and divergence in thirty genotypes of varieties in wheat Triticum aestivum L. and Triticum durum Desf. in agro-climatic conditions of Punjab. Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences among treatment for all the traits. High values of PCV were shown for number of productive tillers per plant (23.57), number of grains per plant (23.03) and grain yield per plant (g) (20.41), whereas moderate values of GCV were shown for number of productive tillers per plant (16.98), grain yield per plant (g) (13.63), number of grains per plant (13.00), biological yield per plant (g) (12.98), number of grains per spike (10.90) and spike length (cm) (10.21). The estimates of heritability recorded high for spike length (cm) (81.80), plant height (cm) (73.00) and peduncle length (cm) (70.50). High estimates of heritability coupled with moderate genetic advance as percent of mean was recorded for spike length (cm), plant height (cm) and peduncle length (cm). Therefore, a plant breeder should emphasize on these traits while practicing selection of high yielding wheat cultivars. Based on result of diversity, 30 genotypes were grouped into six clusters. Cluster II and cluster VI had largest genotypes (09 each) followed by cluster IV (04). The inter-cluster distances were higher than intra-cluster distance, indicating wide genetic diversity among genotypes of different groups. The maximum intra- cluster distance was observed for cluster III (D2=13.00) followed by cluster II (D2=8.31). Cluster V and VI (D2=66.56) showed maximum inter-cluster distance indicating that crossing between the varieties of these clusters will create wide spectrum of variability in wheat followed by cluster II and VI (D2=56.97). Cluster VI exhibited highest mean value for biological yield per plant (g) (27.81), 1000- grain weight (g) (44.61), plant height (cm) (104.10), days to maturity (119.33) and number of productive tillers per plant (10.00). Further, cluster III had highest mean values for spike length (cm) (12.36), number of grains per plant (356.44) and grain yield per plant (g) (11.03), and lowest mean for days to maturity (116.73) i.e. early maturity genotypes were also found in this cluster. Thus, it may be suggested that crossing of genotypes from these clusters may be considered as donor parent for hybridization programme for creating desired variability as well as for effective selection criteria.
Jasmine, Rimpy Dhanda· Genetics and Molecular Resea...· 0 citations
Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) is an important oilseed crop in which improvement of seed yield depends on the availability of genetic variability and the identification of useful yield-associated traits. The present investigation was undertaken to assess genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance, correlation and path relationships for ten quantitative traits in 40 linseed genotypes. The experiment was conducted during rabi 2024–2025 at the College of Agriculture, Latur, Maharashtra, India, in a randomised block design with two replications. The traits evaluated included days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of branches per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of seeds per capsule, 1000-seed weight, oil content, harvest index, and seed yield per plant. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for all the assessed traits.The recalculated estimates showed that GCV ranged from 4.61% for days to maturity to 22.15% for number of branches per plant, while PCV ranged from 5.14% for harvest index to 22.53% for number of branches per plant. Broad-sense heritability ranged from 63.06% for days to maturity to 98.24% for harvest index. Genetic advance as a percentage of the mean was highest for number of branches per plant (44.86%), followed by oil content (35.74%), 1000-seed weight (28.49%), number of capsules per plant (26.80%), number of seeds per capsule (26.16%) and seed yield per plant (25.96%). At the genotypic level, seed yield showed positive associations with number of branches per plant (0.7118), number of capsules per plant (0.7044), number of seeds per capsule (0.7265), plant height (0.0073) and 1000-seed weight (0.0141). The reported path analysis indicated positive direct effects of number of seeds per capsule (0.8083) and number of capsules per plant (0.3397) at the genotypic level, while number of branches per plant showed a high positive direct effect at the phenotypic level (1.6152). Thus, number of branches per plant, number of capsules per plant and number of seeds per capsule may be considered important selection criteria for improving seed yield under the present experimental conditions. The study was conducted at one location in one season; therefore, further multi-location and multi-season evaluation is necessary.
P. Talekar, P. Wadikar, P. D. Adhao et al.· Plant cell biotechnology and...· 0 citations
Rice (
Oryza sativa
L.) is a critical staple crop, necessitating continuous genetic improvement to enhance yield and quality traits to meet global food demands. This study aims to identify high‐yielding genotypes with desirable quality traits and elucidate the relationships among traits to inform breeding strategies. Twenty‐seven rice genotypes were evaluated for genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance, and trait associations. Nine agronomic traits were measured: grain yield, days to maturity, plant height, productive tiller number, 1000‐grain weight, grain length, grain width, grain shape, and awn length during the 2021–2023 cropping seasons. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences (
p
< 0.01) among genotypes for all traits, demonstrating pronounced phenotypic variations that suggest a diverse genetic background among the studied genotypes. Grain yield ranged from 4.38 t ha
−
1
(Gerdeh) to 7.73 t ha
−
1
(Shiroudi), with a mean of 6.052 t ha
−
1
. Broad‐sense heritability (
H
2
) was high (0.926–1.0) for all traits. Traits with both high heritability and high genetic advance as percentage of mean (GA% > 20%)—namely, grain shape, productive tiller number, grain yield, grain width, and grain length—are likely to respond effectively to direct phenotypic selection. Correlation analysis showed significant positive associations between grain yield and days to maturity (
r
= 0.532,
p
< 0.01), 1000‐grain weight (
r
= 0.266,
p
< 0.05), grain length (
r
= 0.269,
p
< 0.05), and grain shape (
r
= 0.269,
p
< 0.05), but a negative correlation with awn length (
r
= −0.406,
p
< 0.01). Path analysis identified days to maturity (direct effect = 0.341,
p
< 0.001) and grain shape (0.241) as key yield contributors. Hierarchical clustering grouped genotypes into four clusters, with Cluster 4 (including Shiroudi, Keshvari, and Neda) containing high‐yielding genotypes. These results provide clear guidance for designing efficient breeding programs through targeted selection of superior genotypes and trait‐based strategies. Shiroudi and Cluster 4 genotypes are promising candidates for breeding high‐yielding, quality rice varieties.
Blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) is an important pulse crop, but its productivity is constrained by limited exploitable genetic variability and several biotic and abiotic factors. Assessment of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance is essential for identifying yield-related traits that can respond effectively to selection and thereby support genetic improvement in blackgram breeding programmes. The present investigation was carried out at the Norman E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, during the kharif season of 2023-24, to assess the extent of genetic variability, heritability and expected genetic advance for eleven yield and yield-related traits in blackgram and to identify the traits on which direct selection would be effective. Forty blackgram genotypes comprising released varieties and advanced breeding lines were evaluated in a randomised block design with three replications in single-row plots 3 m in length, with 30 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants. Observations were recorded from five randomly selected competitive plants of each genotype within each replication. However, days to 50% flowering and days to maturity were assessed on a whole-plot basis. The genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, broad-sense heritability, and genetic advance expressed as a percentage of the mean were estimated using standard biometrical procedures. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all eleven traits evaluated.PCV values were higher than the corresponding GCV values for all the traits, although the differences were narrow throughout, with a maximum of 3.00 per cent. High PCV and GCV were recorded only for seed yield per plant (28.18% and 25.18%), followed by moderate estimates for pods per plant, clusters per plant and primary branches per plant. High heritability was recorded for all eleven traits, ranging from 61.25 per cent for pod length to 90.10 per cent for 100-seed weight. High genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for seed yield per plant (46.32%), pods per plant (28.69%), clusters per plant (25.59%) and primary branches per plant (24.01%). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean for seed yield per plant, pods per plant, clusters per plant and primary branches per plant indicates the predominance of additive gene action in the inheritance of these traits, and simple selection based on these characters would be effective for yield improvement in blackgram.
Shubham Kumawat, R. Panwar, S. K. Verma et al.· Journal of Advances in Biolo...· 0 citations
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