Combining Ability Analysis in Indian Mustard (Brassicajuncea L.)

A study was made to estimate combining ability with ten diverse parents and their 45 F1 s in half diallel mating design in Indian mustard for 13 quantitative and quality traits were made to derive to based on combining ability information to exploitation of maximum heterosis over economic parent and relative magnitude of general and specific combining ability effects. The present investigation was carried out during 2007–08 and 2008–09 at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. The objectives were to quantify combining ability and heterosis for all 13 quantitative characters including seed yield and oil content in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern & Coss). The diallel analysis revealed the importance of both additive and non-additive genetic variance for days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, secondary branches/plant, length of main raceme, and seed yield/plant. The parents PWR-9541, PRQ-2005, CS-609-B-10 and SKM-401 exhibited good GCA for seed yield/plant. For oil content PRQ-2005, RGN-142, PRB-2006-12 and Vardan were high GCAparents. The parent PRQ-2005 displayed desirable GCA effects for seven characters including seed yield and oil content. Similarly the strains CS-609-B-10, SKM-401 and PWR-9541 manifested desirable GCA effects for six, five and seven characters including seed yield, respectively. Based on desirable SCA effects, the crosses PRQ-2005 × PAB-9534, PRQ-2006-12 × Kanti, CS-609-B-10 × SKM-401, CS-609-B-10 × Kanti, PRB-2006-12 × NDRE-4 and four others were found superior for seed yield/plant. Similarly, the crosses NDREM x PWR-9541, CS-609-B-10×Kanti, PRB-2006-12 × NDRE-4 and PRQ-2005 × NDRE-4 for earliness of flowering; and NDRE-4 × Kanti, SKM-401 × PAB-9534, Kanti × Vardan and PRQ-2005 × CS-609-B-10 for earliness of maturity appeared promising.