Morphological evaluation and variability analysis of Brassica rapa germplasm accessions collected from Uttarakhand Hills

Abstract

The present experiment was conducted to estimate genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance among thirty
Brassica rapa germplasm accessions. These accessions were evaluated in randomized block design in two replications
with three checks to identify genetically diverse accessions for the improvement of yield and other traits in Brassica
rapa. Data was recorded on 8 quantitative traits viz., plant height, shoot length, siliqua length, beak length, number of
siliqua, number of seeds per siliqua, siliqua density and seed yield per plant. Higher values of GCV and PCV were
observed for seed yield per plant followed by siliqua density, number of seeds per siliqua, beak length and shoot length.
Higher GCV indicated stability in the expression of these traits and better transmissibility of the traits from parents to the
progeny. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percent of mean was observed for all the traits under
study indicated the predominance of additive gene action in the inheritance of these traits. Therefore, selection would
be effective for the improvement of these traits in following generations.