Heterosis and heritability of traits contributing to select high yielding drought stress tolerance sweetpotato breeding lines

Exploiting heterosis in sweetpotatoes is key to developing high-performance hybrids. The objective of this study was to estimate the heterosis and heritability of traits that contribute to drought stress tolerance and storage root yield in sweetpotatoes. Experiments were conducted at six locations in Niger (Kollo, Kalapate, Bengou, and Bangui) and Nigeria (Abakaliki and Umudike). Data were collected on storage root yield and its components as well as drought parameters. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS software. The combined ANOVA results revealed a highly significant difference (p