Induction of variability and genetic analysis of economic traits in indigo (Indigofera tinctoria).

摘要

Genetic analysis of different quantitative characters in the M₁ and M₂ generations of irradiated population of Indian indigo (Indigofera tinctoria) was carried out by estimating different parameters such as variance, heritability and genetic advance. The analysis of variance revealed significant difference among the treatments for all the biometric characters studied. Various traits including plant height, plant spread, number of branches, number of leaves, leaf area index, harvest index, fresh and dry weight of leaves and pods as well as dry weight of shoots and pods exhibited high heritability with genetic gain indicating additive gene action and suggesting the possibility of genetic improvement of these characters through selection. Correlations between different characters were studied to determine their inter relations with each other and also with leaf yield. Number of branches, being positively correlated with all economically important characters except harvest index and indigotin content promised to be a good selection criterion for evolving higher yielding types. Path analysis revealed that selection of mutants based on higher number of branches and increased plant height can be effective for improving leaf yield. Indigotin content being negatively correlated with leaf yield had direct effect on yield through other correlated characters indicating possibility of improvement in indigotin content through selection for other characters. Frequent harvest was also found to influence indigotin content favourably.