Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance of quantitative traits in gladiolus

The present experiment was conducted in the farm area of the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during 2011–2012 to assess the variability, heritability and genetic advance of 12 gladiolus genotypes for fifteen characters planted at five different planting times from 10 October to 10 December at fortnightly interval. The coefficient of variation (%) for various traits ranged from 5.73 (floret size) to 60.21 (number of cormels). Phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) and genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) for all the traits under study ranged from 7.72 to 81.61 per cent and 5.17 to 55.09 per cent respectively. PCV was higher than the respective GCV for all the traits under study indicating high degree of environmental influence. The heritability of different traits varied from 29.10 (duration of flowering) to 86.91 per cent (size of corms). The high heritability coupled with high genetic advance (percentage of mean) for corm weight (85.52 and 88.56 respectively) advocated high genetic progress for this character.