Genetic variability, correlation and cluster analysis of sub-tropical maize inbreds for morphological characteristics and kernel micronutrient contents

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replications to study thegenetic variability in germplasm lines of pearl millet. A total of eight traits were taken including grain yield anddry fodder yield. Analysis of variance showed significant variability for all the studied traits. The grain yieldranged from 42.76 to 10.45 q/ha with an average mean of 20.32 q/ha, and the dry fodder yield ranged from103.66 to 40.30 q/ha. There was little difference between PCV and GCV in the studied traits suggesting aminimum influence of environment. High estimates of heritability coupled with high/ moderate genetic advancewere recorded for all traits indicating the presence of additive genetic variances. Correlation, regression andpath analysis study revealed that grain yield was positively related to dry fodder yield, panicle length, paniclediameter and plant height. The first five principal components captured almost 90% of the variability, and thehierarchical clustering separated 28 germplasm lines into four groups. The studied germplasm lines havesufficient variability for grain and fodder yield. Selection of these germplasm lines in future breedingprogrammes would be rewarding to release dual-purpose cultivars.