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Pak. J. Bot., 43(6): 2751-2758, 2011.

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GENETIC DIVERGENCE AND ASSOCIATION AMONG POLYGENIC CHARACTERS IN GOSSYPIUM HIRSUTUM L.

MARYAM BIBI¹, NAQIB ULLAH KHAN¹, FIDA MOHAMMAD¹, ROZINA GUL¹, ABDUL AZIZ KHAKWANI² AND OBAID ULLAH SAYAL²

Abstract: Development of promising cotton populations with improved agronomic performance is primary objective of the cotton breeders. Genetic potential and variability in 8 × 8 F₁ diallel hybrids versus their parental lines, traits correlation and heritability estimates were studied in Gossypium hirsutum L., during 2008-09 at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan. Highly significant variations were observed among the parental cultivars and their F₁ hybrids for all traits. Results indicated that F₁ hybrids CIM-506 × CIM-554, CIM-473 × CIM-554, CIM-446 × CIM-554 and CIM-446 × CIM-496 (its reciprocal) produced significantly higher seed cotton yield, bolls per sympodia, boll weight and seeds per boll. Most of the F₁ populations involving CIM-554 as maternal plant also revealed early maturity. Yield related traits revealed significant positive correlations with seed cotton yield. Heritability (broad sense) was high in magnitude for all traits. Results revealed that traits with high heritability and wide range of genetic variability in breeding material can work as a base population, and their significant contribution towards high yield can help in early segregating generations.

¹Department of Plant Breeding & Genetics, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan
²Faculty of Agriculture, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
Corresponding author: maryam_pbg@yahoo.com