Classical selection indices in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.)

An investigation was conducted at the Sugarcane Research Station, Vuyyuru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India to formulateSelection indicesconsidering cane yield and ten of its component characterswhich showed high correlation with cane yield. Selection indices were constructed comprising thirteen clones of sugarcane (Saccharumspp) at second clonal stage. Among eleven characters, cane yield (X1) was considered as dependent character while, other characters viz., number of germinants at 35 DAP (X2),number of millable canes (X3), length of millable cane (X4),diameter of millable cane(X5), single cane weight (X6), brix per cent(X7), sucrose per cent(X8), purity per cent(X9), CCS per cent(X10) and sugar yield (X11) were considered as independent variables. The selection indices constructed with the inclusion of more than one character gave higher genetic advance and relative efficiency over straight selection for cane yield