HETEROSIS FOR FODDER YIELD AND QUALITY TRAITS IN FORAGE SORGHUM
P. R. PATEL1, R. M. CHOUHAN1 AND S. K. JAIN
Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University,
Deesa-385535 (Gujarat), India
*(e-mail : shaileshkumarjain1976@gmail.com)
(Received : 14 June 2018; Accepted : 28 June 2018)
SUMMARY
A field experiment was couducted during summer-kharif, 2013 at Sorghum Research Station, Deesa to study the heterosis for fodder yield and quality traits in forage sorghum. Analysis of variance in individual environment as well as on pooled basis revealed highly significant differences among genotypes, parents and hybrids for all the traits. The heterosis was evident for green fodder yield per plant and other important yield contributing traits from the significance of mean squares due to parents vs. hybrids in individual as well as pooled over environments for almost all the traits. Significance of mean squares due to genotypes x environments, parents x environments and hybrids x environments for most of the traits indicated that genotypes, parents and hybrids performed differently in different environments. The analysis also revealed highly significant differences for mean squares due to parents vs. hybrids x environments for all the traits except brix per cent, HCN content and crude protein content. The magnitude of heterosis was high for green fodder yield per plant, dry fodder yield per plant, brix per cent and leaf : stem ratio, medium for plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf width, shoot fly dead heart per centage and HCN content and low for days to flowering and crude protein content. The best five hybrids on the basis of standard heterosis were 27A x SRF 317 (39.79 %), 14A x SRF 332 (38.76 %), 104A x SPV 2113 (35.77 %), 9A x SPV 2113 (34.81 %) and 14A x SRF 335 (29.26 %) for green fodder yield per plant. These hybrids also exhibited high heterosis for one or two of its contributing traits, thereby these top hybrids can be exploited commercially for fodder yield after testing in wide range of environments.
Key words:Heterosis, genotypes x environments interaction, heterobeltiosis, standard heterosis