Division of Botany, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi-12
The present study was designed to evaluate predicted vs. actual performance of double cross hybrids, developed from early generation inbred lines and from combinations of early and advance generation lines. Jenkins method B was utilized for making the predictions.
Results from correlation coefficient studies and from a test of significance on the difference between predicted and actual values, revealed that the characters grain yield, shelling percentage, per cent. moisture in the grains at harvest, plant and ear height, number of husk leaves per ear, per cent. stem breakage below the ear and top shoot borer damage, were predicted with a high degree of accuracy.
Days to 75 per cent. silking could not be predicted. For root lodging, a low and non-significant r value was obtained, whereas a test of significance on the difference gave 81.2 per cent. successful predictions. Three out of the 16 predictions were found to markedly deviate from actual values. When r was recalculated, ignoring the three hybrids, a highly significant value (+0.78) was obtained.
