Heterobeltiosis in African marigold (Tagetes erecta L.)

A line x tester crossing programme was taken up with three male sterile lines viz., ms₇, mss and ms₁₂ and a set of 11 diverse pollinators such as selections 7, 8, 14, 19, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 31 and 56 used as testers. The hybrids (33 F_1s) along with parents were evaluated during 1995–96 (winter) and 1996 (summer) in randomized block design with three replications. Detailed observations on 12 and 10 characters during winter and summer respectively showed that F_1s were much better than the mean performance of the parents during both the seasons. Appreciable heterosis was observed in all the characters except in two.