Combining ability for oil and protein content in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]

Abstract

Soybean is the world's most important source of edible oil. It accounts for nearly 60 per cent of global oil seed production. The protein content of soybean is rich in limiting amino acid lysine. Any strategy to break the yield and quality barriers need measures which can address to the problem of narrow genetic base of cultivated varieties of soybean. Combining ability studies were under taken in F1, F2 and F3 generations for oil and protein content of soybean. Experimental material comprised 15 F1, F2 and F3 generations of 5 soybean lines crossed with 3 testers in line x tester mating design. The parents were selected on the basis of diverse pedigree, growth habit and adaptation. The material was planted in randomized block design with three replications under rainfed conditions at the Instructional Farm, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, Udaipur during kharif, 2002. One row of parents and F1s, while three rows of F2 and F3 generations were sown in 3 m long rows. Seeds were dibbled with spacing of 45 cm x 10 cm row to row and plant to plant. Bulk seeds of ten randomly selected competitive plant of parents and F1s, where as twenty plants in F2 and F3 generations in each replication were used for analysis of oil and protein content. Analysis of line x tester data for combining ability was done according to Kempthorne [1] and estimation of gene effects was done according to Hayman [2].