Combining ability, genetic diversity and their association with heterosis for seed yield in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) millspaugh]

In pigeonpea, very less information is available on the interrelationship between combining ability, parental genetic diversity and heterosis.

The experiment was conducted using randomized block design during kharif 2017-18 at GBPUAT, Pantnagar with 36 genotypes (8 parents and 28 F₁ hybrids). The combining ability was estimated by using the Griffing's, Method II, Model I. The genetic diversity (GD) was estimated by using the D² statistics. The correlation between heterosis and different parameters viz., parental mean (PM), specific combining ability (SCA), mean of general combining ability (MGCA) and genetic diversity (GD) were estimated by using Pearson's correlation.

The hybrids viz., Pant A 441 × AH 09-47 (65.33 g), Pant A 441 × Pusa 2013-2 (64.33 g), Pusa 992 × Pant A 441 (62.67 g), UPAS 120 × Pant A 441 (59.67 g) and UPAS 120 × Pusa 992 (58 g) were found as most promising hybrids for seed yield while the parents Pant A 441 can be used as donor for high seed yield. The estimation of genetic diversity among parents revealed that three different clusters were present. PM, MGCA and SCA were found to be reliable parameters to predict the heterosis.