Studies on combining ability of okra genotypes for protein, total dietary fibre and mineral content

Abstract

Okra is an important traditional vegetable crop cultivated across the warmer parts of the world and has high nutritive and medicinal values. Though there is lot of information available in respect of yield traits but a little information are available with respect to the combining ability for nutritional traits like protein, total dietary fibre and minerals like phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and copper. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to estimate the combining ability of eight parental lines for mineral, protein and total dietary fibre content. The general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) variances were highly significant for all the characters studied. The magnitude of the GCA variance appeared more preponderant (σ2gca/ σ2sca ratio &lt' 1) indicating that the additive gene effect was important in the control and inheritance of most of the traits except total dietary fibre and calcium. Among parents, DOV-1-2 was a good combiner for phosphorus, calcium and iron, DOV-2 for total dietary fibre, phosphorus and copper, Pusa A4 for calcium and iron and DOV-62 for total dietary fibre and phosphorus. Significant SCA effect in positive direction was recorded in the crosses DOV-1-2 × IC-090491 and Pusa A4 × DOV-2 for total dietary fibre, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and copper; WB Selection × IC-090491 for phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron and copper. Not a single parent or cross combination showed significant GCA or SCA for all the characters under study, indicating to the need of utilizing population improvement methods for biofortification in okra without compromising yield and other horticultural traits.