Heterotic effects for yield and yield-related attributes in F1 population of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

The present study was carried out at the Experimental Farm (located at Kharora), Department of Agriculture, Mata Gujri College, Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, during Rabi season of 2022-23 and 2023-24. Experimental materials comprised of 15 F1 resulting from line x tester mating design, 8 parents and one check grown in Randomized Block Design in three replications. The analysis of variance for the design of the experiment revealed significant differences among treatments (genotypes) for all the characters except harvest index. Cross combinations Lal Bahadur x WH 1105, Lal Bahadur x DBW 17, PBW 226 x DBW 17 and RAJ 2184 x PBW 550 showed significant and desirable heterosis for grain yield and most of the traits. GCA and SCA effects revealed that parent Lal Bahadur and cross combination PBW 226 x DBW 17 and RAJ 2184 x PBW 550 was good general combiner and good specific combinations respectively, as these showed significant effects for most of the traits.