Genotypic variability and correlation studies of leaf characters in Terminalia species

Genetic variability, genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation, heritability, genetic advance and interrelationships of nine foliar characters in 39 genotypes of Terminalla arjuna and T. tomentosa were studied. Maximum variation was observed in leaf weight followed by leaf area, L x B and stomatal frequency. The smallvalues of error variances for all nine foliar characters suggest that they are genetically controlled. High GCV and PCV were rqlnrted for leaf weight, leaf area, L X B, breadth and length of leaf and stomatal frequency in descending order. High heritability was associates with high genetic advance for L x B and leaf area which confirms that the additive gene effects are important in determining these characters. The low and moderate genetic advance with high heritability for other seven foliar characters is possibly due to intra- and interallelic interaction. Leaf area, length, breadth, L X B, weight of leaf and stomatal length had significant positive correlation with each other while stomatal frequency had significant negative correlation with these characters.