Impact of biparental mating on association pattern among quantitative characters in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) moench]

An experiment was undertaken to study genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance and relationship between various economically important traits in three populations of the okra viz, biparental (BIP) F₂, single cross (SC) F₂, and double cross (DC) F₂ populations for the purpose of genetic improvement. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences for the characters. Considerable variation was observed in BIP compared to SC and DC populations for most of the quantitative characters e.g. number of branches per plant, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight (g), fruit yield per plant (g). Among the BIP's populations, number of fruits per plant (0.929**), 100 seed weight (0.871**), average fruit weight (0.859**), number of nodes per plant (0.611**), number of branches per plant (0.916**) and plant height (0.912**) exhibited positive significant association with fruit yield per plant. So these characters can be considered for genetic improvement in okra.