Genetic variability studies in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for yield and quality traits

Abstract

A study was carried out to investigate yield and quality traits in tomato, in order to generate information regardingthe extent of genetic variability, heritability and genetic gain. The experiment was laid out during kharif 2018 in RandomizedComplete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed that, the magnitude of phenotypiccoefficient of variation was slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits under study. Further,high estimates of heritability and genetic gain were recorded for lycopene content, days to 1st harvest, pericarp thickness,number of clusters per plant, number of fruits per plant, titrable acidity, yield per plant, number of locules per fruit, averagefruit weight, days to 50% flowering, TSS, number of primary branches, shelf life, equatorial length of fruit, polar length offruit, number of fruits per cluster, pH and plant height. This suggests that simple selection is sufficient for the improvementof these traits. may bring worthwhile improvement in identifying superior genotypes in tomato.