Potato Journal

The genetic components of tuber yield, number of tubers per plant, average tuber weight, and per cent tuber protein were studied using dihaploids of S. tuberosum. The broad sense heritabitity estimates of all the characters were high. The narrow sense heritability estimates for tuber yield, tuber number, tuber dry matter and tuber protein were higher than those for average tuber weight and starch in tubers. The non-additive genetic variances for all the six characters were higher than the corresponding additive genetic variances. The estimates of the average degree of dominance for genes influencing tuber yield and tuber quality characters were in the over dominance range. The values of expected genetic advance indicated a rapid progress in the improvement of tuber yield by selection. Among the quality characters, the tuber protein content is expected to show a better response to selection than either tuber dry matter or tuber starch.