?GENETIC STUDIES OF COTTON (GOSSYPIUM HIRSUTUM L) I. COMBINING ABILITY AND HETEROSIS STUDIES IN YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS
Keywords:
General combining ability, Specific combining ability, Hybrid, Heterosis.Abstract
To estimate the heterosis and combining ability effects in cotton, 4 x 4 diallel cross experiment was con-
ducted. Significant general combining ability effects were observed in seed cotton yield, bolls per plant, plant
height, seeds per boll and seed index, (100 seed weight), whereas specific combining ability effects were
significant for seed cotton yield, bolls per plant, boll weight, seed index and non significant for plant height
and seeds per boll. Reciprocal effects were observed for seed index only. B557 was the best general com-
biner for seed cotton yield, bolls per plant and plant height. Heterosis and heterobeltiosis were observed for
all the characters under study.