EARLY GENERATION TESTING AND RESPONSE TO SELECTION IN MACROSPERMA x MICROSPERMA DERIVED GENE POOL OF LENTIL

Abstract

F2 derived lines (160) in F4 from four macrospenna x microspenna crosses, selected on the basis of high seed yield/plant (g), and high harvest index in the background of bold seed size from 713 F2· derived lines in F3 were evaluated in an augmented randomized block design under two nitrogenous regimes Le., 20 kg N/ha (E-!) and 40 kg N/ha (E-ll). Estimates of correlation coefficients of selected F2 derived lines in F3 with the corresponding lines in F4 were highly significant and positive with respect to seed yield/plant (0.91 and 0.92 in E-! and E-ll, respectively), biological yield/plant (0.75 and 0.72 in E-! and E-ll, respectively) and 1OO-seed weight (0.91 and 0.92 in E-! and E-ll, respectively). At 5% selection intensity, standardized selection differential was observed to be the highest for all studied traits followed by 10% and 22.5% selection intensities. Standardized response to selection at 5% selection intensity was estimated to be the highest for all traits in E-ll and it was equally good in E-! also. However, E-ll was observed to be superior for all the traits for estimation of response to selection at different selection intensities. The realized heritability of seed yield/planl was estimated to be high at 5%, 10% and 15% selection intensities in E-ll. For 100- seed weight the estimated realized heritability was high in all cases. The present results favour the view that most desirable gene combinations can be identified even in the heterozygotes. On the basis of present results yield test in F3 is advocated.