Exploitation of hybrid vigour in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench)

To estimate the extent of heterosis, eight diverse genotypes viz. Perkins Long Green (P₁), SB-5 (P₂), SB-3 (P₃), Parbhani Kranti (P₄), Pusa Makhmali (P₅), Pusa Sawani (P₆), Punjab-7 (P₇) and SB-8 (P₈) were crossed in diallel excluding reciprocals. The 28 F₁ crosses and 8 parents were evaluated. Analysis of variance indicated highly significant differences among genotypes, parents, hybrids and parents vs hybrids. This indicated large spectrum of genetic variability among the genotypes. The F₁ crosses revealed wide range of heterosis over better parent for all the characters. Number of pods/plant recorded maximum heterosis (74.77%) followed by average pod weight (62.59%), branch number/plant (52.50%), height of first fruiting node (44.83%), pod yield/plant (36.66%), seed number/pod (36.59%), node number/plant (36.41%), number of node of first pod appearance (−32.09%), plant height (26.75%), internodal length (−26.11%), pod length (17.92%), days to first fruit set (−12.12%) and fruit girth (1.12%). Among the crosses, the hybrids especially P₃×P₇, P₂×P₆, P₁×P₂ and P₁×P₄ could be considered as potential hybrids for commercial exploitation.