Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, VARANASI, 221005 (INDIA)
2. Present address: Girijan Krishi Kendra, Rastakuntubai, via G.L. Puram, (A.P.) 532 523.
1. Part of the Ph. D. thesis submitted by the senior author to Banaras Hindu University in 1979.
Combining ability analysis of ten diverse cultivars of pea (Pisum sativum L.) crossed in all possible combinations indicated the importance of both general and specific combining ability variances for pods/plant, pod length, seeds/pod, 100 seed weight and seed yield/plant. However, the variances due to GCA were predominant in both F1 and F2 generations. The per se performance of the parents was associated with their GCA effects Parents T163, P206 and S2 were the best general combiners for seed yield. Most of tne crosses showing significant postive SCA effects involved] one good and one poor, or even negative general combiner. Relatively higher estimates of SCA effects were usually recorded in those crosses which involved diverse interacting parents.
