Genetic analysis of forage yield and other traits in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)

Twenty one genotypes of six – parent half diallel were analyzed for estimating gene effects of variance, combining ability and standard heterosis for forage yield and other traits in barley. The estimates of gene effects revealed the significant role of additive genetic component (D) for the inheritance of days to 50% heading, plant height and spikelets per ear. The non-additive component (H1) was found to be important for the genetic control of all the traits except for days to 50% heading and tillers per plant. However, the relative magnitude of dominant component (H1) was higher as compared to additive component (D) in all the traits, indicating the preponderance of dominant gene effects in controlling the inheritance of these traits. The genetic component (H2) was recorded with low magnitude than (H1) for all the traits, except days to 50% heading and tillers per plant, indicating that beneficial positive alleles are not proportional to that of deleterious negative alleles at all loci among parents.The ratio of gca and sca effects was less than unity for all traits except spikelet per ear, indicating the predominant role of non-additive genetic components in the inheritance of all the traits. Among parents, BHS 352 and HBL 276 were identified as good general combiners for forage yield, days to 50% heading and spikelets per ear, whereas parent, HBL 113 was found to be good general combiner for tillers per plant, ear length and biological yield. The predominance of non–additive components of genetic variance (H1, H2) along with positive values of additive component (D), high per se performance, significant sca effects and significant standard heterosis in top ranking hybrid, HBL 276 X HBL 113, suggested the scope of improvement for forage yield per plant, tillers per plant, ear length, biological yield per plant and grain yield per plant through bi-parental mating.