Estimation of Genetic Variability, Correlation and Path Analysis for Yield and Some Yield Contributing Traits in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

A study was conducted at the Student Instruction Farm, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur, during the rabi season of 2022–2023, to estimate the genetic variability, correlation, and path coefficient analysis of yield and its contributing traits in cross combination. Ten wheat cultivars were grown in a randomized block design with three replications. The analysis of variance revealed that the treatments were highly significant for all the characters. The higher magnitudes of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were recorded for grain yield, biological yield, harvest index and plant height. The high heritability in broad sense was estimated for all the characters except for day to 50% heading, flag leaf area (cm2), number of leaves/main tiller, number of spikelets/ear and protein content (%).A high value of heritability suggests that it could be due to a higher contribution of genotypic components. High heritability associated with high genetic advantage as a percentage of the mean was found for plant height, harvest index, biological yield, and grain yield, indicating a predominance of additive gene action in the inheritance of these traits. The estimated correlation coefficients showed high direct genotypic and phenotypic correlations for days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, productive tillers/plant, test weight, biological yield, and harvest index. In contrast, flag leaf area (cm2), number of leaves/main picks, number of kernels/spike, and seed hardiness were negatively correlated with grain yield. Path analysis showed that biological yield had the largest direct positive effect on grain yield, followed by harvest index, ear length, plant height, and days to 50%, indicating that these factors were the largest contributors to grain yield.