Genetic variability and character association in banana

The nature and magnitude of genetic variability and their inter-relationship was studied for fourteen characteristics in one hundred and seventy genotypes of banana. High estimates of genetic coefficients of variation, heritability and genetic advance were observed for number of hands/bunch, number of fingers/bunch, finger weight and bunch weight indicating their amenability for improvement and reliability for effecting selections. The studies on phenotypic correlations indicated high positive association between finger weight and bunch weight and also with most other yield components while number of hands/bunch and fingers/bunch had either insignificant positive correlations or high negative correlations with most of the yield components. The studies revealed the importance of bunch weight and finger as selection criteria for improvement in banana.