Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance studies in marigold ( Tagetes spp. ) under the South Gujarat region

The success of crop improvement programme depends on the extent of genetic variability existing in the population of germplasm. The improvement and development of new varieties depends to a great extent upon the magnitude of genetic variability. The present investigation was carried out at three different locations during Rabi season (November 2014- April 2015) to evaluate 26 genotypes of marigold. The analysis of variance for all the traits revealed presence of considerable genetic variability in the material studied. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all the traits studied, which indicated appreciable influence of environment. The high magnitude for genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation as well as high magnitude of broad sense heritability coupled with genetic gain was observed for plant height, number of secondary branches per plant, leaf area, leaf biomass, photosynthetic rate, flower weight, number of flower per plant, flower yield per plant, seed yield per plant and carotenoid content, which indicated additive gene effects. Hence, these characters were less influenced by environment and direct selection for these traits would be effective for further improvement.