Genetic analysis of biparental mating and selfing in segregating populations of okra

Three populations of the okra, viz., biparental F2, and single cross F2, and double cross F2 populations were developed in 2008 and these populations were evaluated in 2009 to study the extent of genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance of twelve characters in okra. Considerable variation was observed in BIP (biparental population) compared to SC (single cross) F₂ and DC (double cross) F₂ populations for most of the characters, which was confirmed by high mean and wider range of variation as evidenced by high PCV and GCV values for number of branches per plant, number of fruits per plant, average fruit weight (g), and fruit yield per plant (g). It is revealed that inter mating in early segregating generations of different individuals lead to release of additional variability, since biparental mating among the segregates in the F₂ of a cross may provide more opportunity for the recombination to occur, break the linkage blocks and mop up desirable genes and as a result release concealed variability.