Combining ability studies for certain metric traits in bottle gourd [Lagenaria siceraria (Mol,)Standl]

Abstract

Combining ability effects were estimated for different characters in a line × tester method comprising 30 hybrids obtained by crossing 10 lineo and 3 testers. Significant differences were observed among the parents and crosses for general combining ability (g.c.a.) and specific combining ability (s.c.a.), respectively. The higher estimates of dominance variance as compared to additive variance was recorded for all the characters, except fruit diameter and number of fruits/plant. Variances due to general and specific combining abilities were significant for most of the characters. The parents, VRBG-112, NDBG-132, NDBG-140, IC-92362, IC-92462, Pusa Naveen and PSPL were found good general combiners. Therefore, these parents can be exploited for hybridization for producing desirable recombinants in the segregating generations. High s.c.a. effects for yield and other traits were exhibited by the crosses NDBG-140 × Pusa Naveen, VRBG-88 × NDBG-56, VRBG-105 × Pusa Naveen, PBOG-22 × PSPL, VRBG-88 × Pusa Naveen, IC-92362 × Pusa Naveen, NDBG-132 × NDBG-56, VRBG-112 × ISDBG-56, PBOG-22 × NDBG-56 and NDBG-132 × PSPL. Most of the crosses, good × good, poor × poor, poor × good, average × good, good × poor, good × average and average × poor combinations indicating the role of additive, epistatic, dominance, additive, dominance, additive and dominance gene action. High s.c.a. in the crosses involving good × good general combiners might be due to additive × additive type of interaction which is partially fixable. High g. c.a. effects in the crosses involving poor × poor combining parents were possibly due to intrJ and inter alielic interactions.