Vol. 9, Issue 6 (2020)

Author(s):
Kommoju Aishwarya, Sneha Macwana and Jigar Mistri

Abstract:
The nature of gene action governing the expression of various traits is very helpful in formulating an effective and sound breeding program. The study was undertaken with the objective to estimate gene effect, heterosis, inbreeding depression, heritability and expected genetic advance for seed yield and its characters in sesame. The experimental material, consists of six generations (P₁, P₂, F₁, F₂, B₁ and B 2 ) raised from four crosses viz., cross I (RAMA × GT-4), cross II (RAMA × GT-10), cross III (TMV-4 × GT-5) and cross IV (TILLOTAMA × GT-3) were grown in randomized compact family block design with three replications. Analysis of variance revealed presence of significant differences among different crosses and among different generations within cross for all the twelve characters studied, except days to maturity, 1000 seed weight and seed yield per plant between the families; and plant height and capsules per plant in cross II. The estimates of gene action revealed the presence of only additive gene action for the expression of days to 50 per cent flowering in crosses I and IV, days to maturity in cross IV, plant height in cross I, capsules per plant in cross I, biological yield in cross IV. The non-additive gene action was found to be significant for days to maturity in cross I and plant height in cross II. Significant heterosis and heterobeltiosis in desirable directions were observed for oil content in cross I, protein content in cross II and capsules per plant, 1000 seed weight and seed yield per plant in cross IV. Significant heterosis for days to 50 per cent flowering and seeds per capsule were also observed in desirable direction. Majority of crosses exhibited medium to high narrow sense heritability along with expected genetic advance for all the characters in almost all the crosses except for harvest index in cross IV which exhibited low estimates of narrow sense heritability along with low expected genetic advance.