GENETIC VARIABILITY STUDIES FOR YIELD AND QUALITY COMPONENTS IN CENCHRUS GRASS (CENCHRUS SPP.)
ADLIN*. S, C. BABU AND P. SUMATHI
Department of Forage Crops,
Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore
*(e-mail : adlins23@gmail.com)
(Received : 16 October 2018; Accepted : 18 December 2018)
SUMMARY
The present study was conducted to assess the magnitude of genetic variability in Cenchrus grass genotypes for fodder yield, its component traits and quality parameters. Significant genetic
variability was observed among the germplasm studied. High PCV and GCV ( >20 %) were observed for the traits like leaf length, leaf width, number of tillers per plant, 100 seed weight, green fodder yield per plant, crude fat content, calcium and magnesium content. In the present investigation, high heritability coupled with high genetic advance over mean was observed for the characters plant height, leaf length, leaf width, panicle length, internode length, number of tillers per plant, days to 50 per cent flowering, 100 seed weight, crude protein, crude fat, calcium, magnesium content and green fodder yield per plant suggesting the influence of additive gene action. Hence these traits may be considered as selection indices for Cenchrus grass improvement programme.
Key words: Cenchrus grass, PCV, GCV, heritability, genetic advance