Progressive Agriculture

Estimates of genetic parameters for twelve characters in twelve genetically diverse forage sorghum lines viz. Pant chari-5, SPV-1724, HJ-513, RSSV-9, SSG-59-3, Pusa chari-23, HD-19-1, S-199, CSH-18, S-241, CSH-20 and S-437 and four testers CSV-15, HC-171, G-48 and Pant chari-6 were used line x tester fashion. Two varieties out of the parents viz. HC-308 and U.P.chari-2 were used as checks. The parents and F1s were evaluated in a completely randomized block design with three replications for twelve characters during kharif 2009 at the Crop Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut. Forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) revealed significant variability for all the traits. The estimates of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation were high (more than 25%) observed for leaf breadth, leaves per plant, leaf area, leaf stem ratio and green fodder yield and moderate (10 - 25%) was observed for leaf length, internode length, stem girth, total soluble solids and protein content and low (<10%) for days to 50% flowering. Heritability (broad sense) was high (> 60%) for all traits viz. days to 50% flowering, plant height, leaf breadth, leaf length, internode length, stem girth, leaves per plant, leaf area, leaf stem ratio, total soluble solids, protein content and green fodder yield. The genetic advance as percent of mean were high (> 20%) for plant height, leaf breadth, leaf length, internode length, stem girth, leaves per plant, leaf area, leaf stem ratio and green fodder yield. Based on this consideration, high heritability for plant height, leaf breadth, leaf length, internode length, stem girth, leaves per plant, leaf area, leaf stem ratio and green fodder yield coupled with high genetic advance, indicate additive genetic control in the inheritance of these traits and selection pressure could be profitably applied on these characters for yield improvement.