Studies on heterosis for qualitative traits in okra

Abstract

Eight okra parental lines, viz., Pusa A4, DOV-1-2, DOV-2, DOV-12, WB selection, IC-090491, DOV-62 and C-10 were crossed in diallel mating design without reciprocals to produce 28 hybrids. All these hybrid combinations without reciprocals along with their parents were evaluated to study heterosis with respect to protein, total dietary fibre and mineral content. Per se performance showed considerable differences among the eight parents. The hybrid Pusa A4 × IC-090491 showed highly significant positive heterosis over standard parent for protein (69.61%), total dietary fibre (50.81%), phosphorus (13.19%), potassium (16.15%), calcium (34.81%), magnesium (8.47%), iron (100.65%) and copper (6.28%) content. The hybrid effects and heterosis for various minerals showed that none of the parent and hybrid excelled for all the minerals, pointing to the need of utilising multiple crossing methods for pyramiding these qualitative traits without comprising on yield and other horticultural traits.