Possibilities of exploitation of heterosis using functional-genetic male sterility in B juncea was explored by studying the extent of heterosis for yield and other characters in 19 F1 hybrids against five commercial cultivars. Eighteen hybrids outyielded the best check RLM 514. Three of them viz. MS X Pant Rai 1002, MS X RH 848 and MS X RLC 1047 were significantly superior over the best check in seed yield by 81.19%, 50.65% and 64.94% respectively. The overall heterosis (taking all hybrids and checks into account) for seed yield was very high (59.69%). The agronomic superiority of the three hybrids was reflected by 1.5 to 2.0 times oil yield and one week earliness in flowering as compared to RLM 514.
Indian Mustard, heterosis, functional - genetic male sterility
