Extent of variability among the different acid lime strains was studied through the survey of Bijapur district of Karnataka for various characters like yield and its components and quality characters. The results indicated that high variation was observed for characters, viz., fruit weightwhich ranged from(27.12 to 47.30 g), equator diameter (3.49 to 4.23 cm), polar diameter (3.56 to 4.36 cm), fruit size (12.40 to 18.11 cm2), fruit volume (25.03 to 45.38 ml), peel thickness (0.10 to 0.24 cm), number of segments per fruit (8.75 to 11.71), number of seeds per fruit (8.01 to 13.06), juice per cent (38.69 to 47.21), total soluble solids (6.45 to 8.500Birx), titrable acidity (6.43 to 8.19%) and ascorbic acid (22.22 to 36.81 mg/100ml). Appreciable range of variation was noticed for yield characters like number of fruits per plant (725 to 1900) and fruit yield (20.44 to 89.99 kg/plant). Thus, existing variability is prerequisite for crop improvement and hence from this, it is asserted that large variation for various physico-chemical characters is available for utilization in acid lime crop improvement.
Co-efficient of variation, acid lime, variability, crop improvement
