Combining ability for yield and yield components characters of bhendi (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench)

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to study the genetics of fruit yield and its components characters. The present study was made 
with eight genotypes selected based on D2 Analysis and the parents were crossed to develop fifty six hybrids to estimate mean, 
general and specific combining ability effect for identifying the best combiners for eight traits, viz.,days to first flowering, plant 
height, number of branch per plant, number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight and fruit yield per plant. The 
general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) mean squares were highly significant for all the studied 
characters.The parents P7, Parbhani Kranti and Girijavikas were adjudged as superior for fruit yield per plant and most of the 
characters. Among the fifty six hybrids. Three hybrids viz,. Parbhani Kranti X Naveena, Naveena X Girijavikas and Arka Abhay 
X P7 required significant sca effects for six others traits. In the cross revealed combination based on gca and sca effects four 
crosses namely Parbhani Kranti X P7 (high X high gca parents), Arka Abhay X P7 (low X high gca parents), Parbhani Kranti X 
Naveena (high X low gca parents) and Naveena X Girijavikas (low X low gca parents) are suggested to improve the fruit yield 
per plant through heterosis breeding and their use in commercial cultivation.