Abstract

A 5 x 5 diallel cross was conducted in tomato to study the genetic components of variance. Variation due to both additive and non-additive effects were important for days to first flowering, plant height, number of laterals per plant, fruit weight and number of locules per fruit. Overdominance was observed in plant height, days to first flowering, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, yield per plant, pericarp thickness and pH of the juice. Estimate of heritability ranged from 0.17 percent (yield per plant) to 0.88 (number of clusters per plant). Breeding approaches like biparental mating, triple test cross followed by modified recurrent selection has been suggested for greater genetic improvement in the segregating generations.

Keywords: Additive and non additive effects, Heritability, Recurrent selection