GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION FOR ECONOMIC AND BIOCHEMICAL TRAITS IN BREAD WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM L.) GENOTYPES OVER THE GENERATION

Eight parental genotypes along with their 28 F1 hybrids and 28 F2 generations of wheat were evaluated to study the combining ability in a randomized complete block design with three replications during 2016-17 at SKUAST-Jammu, India. Mean sum of squares due to GCA and SCA were found to be highly significant for all the traits studied in both generations except number of effective tillers per plant in F2 generation for GCA, indicating that both additive and non-additive genes were controlling these traits. The magnitude of SCA variance were greater than GCA variance for most of the traits in both the generations indicated that non-additive type of gene effects were more pronounced than those of additive gene effect showed significant GCA effects for grain yield per plant. In F1 generation three crosses with both parent as poor combiners; five crosses with one parent as good combiner and one cross with both parent as good combiners and in F2 generation six crosses with both parent as poor combiners; four crosses with one parent as good combiner and one cross with both parent as good combiners were found to be desirable crosses for grain yield per plant and biochemical traits