Agricultural Science Digest

The inbred lines and single cross hybrids (F'₁s), generated through a 12 x 12 diallel crossing system (12 inbreds of S₄/S₅ stage derived from divergent heterotic pools, viz., X₁W, X₂W and population 30) were evaluated in a randomized block design replicated thrice, under rainfed and irrigated conditions on clay loam and sandy loam soils. The estimates of variances suggested that all the traits under study were governed by additive (σ²A), non-additive (σ²D) and cytoplasmic (σ²R) inheritance with predominant non-additive gene action. The higher GCA effects and per se performance revealed that inbreds P₁, P₂ and P₁₁ were good general combiners with good performance for grain yield and its various contributing traits, while higher estimates of heterobeltiosis, economic heterosis, SCA effects and per se performance revealedthathybrids(P₃ x P₄),(P₃ x P₇), (P₆ x P₈), (P₄ x P₁₁) and (P₇ x P₁₂) were superior for grain yield and various yield attributes.