GENETIC DIVERGENCE AND HETEROSIS IN LINSEED (Linum ussitatissimum L (original) (raw)

Cluster analysis can be used to identify cultivars with similar adaptation, which can be useful for sampling in subsequent studies and parental selection in hybridization breeding programs Twenty-one flax genotypes differed in their origin and purpose were used in this study. Sixteen agronomic and yield characters were evaluated. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences for all studied characters indicating the presence of considerable amount of genetic variability. The variation due to parents, crosses were also significant for most characters. Parents vs crosses were significant for most characters indicating the heterotic effects. Significant positive heterosis over mid-Parents, better parent and commercial cultivars were observed for seed yield/fed, number of apical branches/plant, number of capsules/plant. The crosses that exhibited heterosis for seed yield also showed significant heterosis for most yield components characters. The cross combination Sakha3 x Gowhar surpassed all genotypes for oil content. The 85% of dissimilarity coefficients were significant.