Plant loss in seed populations of mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Plant loss was studied in segregating generations of five crosses,viz., HG 19 X Black Neelalu (BN), ML 5 X HG 19, K 851 X ML 5, HG 19 X K 851, and ML 5 X Black Neelalu, of mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), maintained according to the SSD scheme. The SSD populations from each cross were maintained at three spacings of 15 X 5 cm (SSD 1), 15 X 3 cm (SSD 2), and 10 X 3 cm (SSD 3). There was a drastic reduction in the population size from F₂ to F₅ primarily due to poor seed germination and barren plants due to diseases. The mean plant loss per generation did not seem to be related to spacing. The highest plant loss (43.1%) was observed in SSD 2 of cross ML 5 X BN, followed by SSD 1 of the same cross (35.6%), SSD 2 of cross HG 19 X BN (34.9%), SSD 3 of K 851 X ML 5 (31.2%), and SSD 1 of HG 19 X BN (30.9%).