Comparative Study of Advance Lines Along with their Single Cross Hybrids for Yield and Other Horticultural Traits in Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench]

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during Kharif 2022-23 at the ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi, to evaluate the performance of ten parental lines of okra and their forty-five hybrids. The experiment was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications for sixteen horticultural traits including earliness, plant architecture, fruit characteristics, yield contributing traits and Enation Leaf Curl Virus (ELCV) incidence. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among parental lines and hybrids for all traits except for the number of effective branches and fruit length. Among the parents, VRO-220 and VRO-219 exhibited the earliest flowering and first harvest, while VRO-200 demonstrated the highest fruit yield per plant. Hybrids such as VRO-220×VRO-219 and VRO-216×VRO-200 showed superior performance in terms of earliness, yield, and fruit traits. Plant architectural traits, such as internodal length and plant height, varied significantly, with VRO-106 exhibiting the tallest plants and the maximum number of effective branches. Fruit traits showed substantial variability, with VRO-200 producing the highest number of fruits per plant and fruit weight. For ELCV resistance, VRO-216 exhibited the lowest disease incidence, and several hybrids showed promising resistance to the virus. The results suggest that hybridization can significantly enhance desirable traits such as earliness, yield, and disease resistance in okra, thereby improving its productivity and adaptability in field conditions.