Combining Ability, Components of Genetic Variance and Heterotic Response in Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.)

The present investigation was carried out at the Students’ Instructional Farm, Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya to evaluate a line x tester set of 45 hybrids (F1’s) and their 18 parents alongwith two checks for twelve characters. Forty-five crosses were constituted in Rabi, 2016-2017, whereas parents and crosses were evaluated in a yield trial in Rabi 2017-2018, in a randomized complete block design of three replications. Results revealed highly significant variations within parents and F1 genotypes indicating a wide genetic variability for the studied characters and the possibility of genetic improvement using such genetic material of faba bean. Parents, HB 10, HB 50, EC 454751 and EC 301470 showed desirable and significant GCA effects for grain yield per plant and some of the yield contributing traits to emerge as valuable donor parents for hybridization programme. Out of forty-five, eleven crosses emerged with positive and significant SCA effects for grain yield per plant. The high estimates of genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation and high heritability in broad sense alongwith high genetic advance in per cent of mean were recorded for number of pods per plant. A wide range of variation in the estimates of heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis in positive and negative direction was observed for grain yield per plant as well as remaining eleven traits. In case of grain yield per plant, heterobeltiosis ranged from -35.75 to 100.74 per cent, standard heterosis varied from -35.10 to 46.30 per cent over SV1 (HFB 1) and from -33.26 to 50.46 per cent over SV2 (Vikrant).