Jute Agricultural Research Institute, Barrackpore (West Bengal)
Online published on 25 January, 2012.
The nature of combining ability in Corchorus capsularis was studied in a set ofdiallel crosses involving seven cultivars, namely—JRC-212, JRC-321, JRC-412, Patchy Albino. JRC-6165, JRC-5854 and Yellow Leaf. Both general combining ability and specific combining ability variances were significant for all characters, except general combining ability in respect of basal diameter.
It was interesting to note that the parents which were high combiners for plant height were generally also high combiners for fibre yield and earliness. The combining ability for plant height appeared to be influenced by the combining ability for yield components. The superior combinations involved at least one high general combiner, as a parent, and only rarely a low × low combination was superior.
Out of 42 combinations, few crosses also showed reciprocal effects. Reciprocal differences were shown in crosses involving JRC-212, JRC-412 and Yellow Leaf.
