Genetic Variability, Heritability, Genetic Advance and Association of Agronomic Traits of Early Flushing Tea (Camellia sinensis L) Clones at the Nursery Stage

• Published in: Pakistan journal of agricultural research 2021, Vol.34 (3), p.405
• Main Authors: Ahmad, Fayaz, Khan, Noorullah, Hamid, Farrukh Siyar, Waheed, Abdul, Khan, M. Abbas, Ahmad, Imtiaz, Islam, Shamsul, Shah, Basharat Hussain, Aslam, Sohail, Zaman, Qamar uz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Camellia sinensis; Cloning; Coefficient of variation; Crop improvement; Farms; Flushing; Genetic variability; Genotypes; Germplasm; Heritability; Leaves; Morphology; Nurseries; Phenotypic variations; Plants; Population; Replication; Roots; Seeds; Stems; Tea; Variance analysis
• ISSN: 0251-0480; 0251-0480; 2227-8311
• DOI: 10.17582/journal.pjar/2021/34.3.405.416

The present study was conducted at the tea nursery farm of PARC-National Tea and High Value Crops Research Institute, Shinkiari, Mansehra, Pakistan during the years 2014-16 to assess genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance as percent of mean for various growth attributing traits of fifteen early flushing tea (Camellia sinensis L) clones. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replication and 100 plants per replication. Data were recorded on plant height (PH), number of branches per plant (NBP), number of leaves per plant (NLP), stem diameter (SD), main root length (MRL), root diameter (RD), number of lateral roots per plant (NLRP), dry shoot weight (DRW) and dry root weight (DRW). The highest plant height (78.66 cm) was produced by clone BP2-2, followed by Clones BP1-4, BP1-3, BP3-1 and BP2-5 with plant height of 70.46, 67.60, 67.20 and 66.36 cm respectively. Clone BP2-2 also produced highest number of leaves per plant (34.66), stem diameter (6.53 mm), root length (35.10 cm), root diameter (6.55 mm), number of lateral roots per plant (6.35), Dry shoot weight (17.56 g) and dry root weight (11.57 g). Number of branches per plant in the early flushing tea clones ranged from 1.33 (BP2-4) to 6.00 (BP6-1). The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), but the difference between PCV and GCV was minimal for most of the traits revealing little influence of the environment in the expression of these traits. High PCV and GCV were observed for DRW (26.98 and 29.11%), NBP (25.36 and 28.63), PH (23.20 and 24.21), DSW (20.38 and 22.59) and NLRP (20.34 and 23.55%) suggesting the presence of wide range of genetic variability in the genotypes for these traits. Heritability ranged from moderate (65.28%) for SD to high (91.86%) for PH whereas expected genetic advance was high (>20%) for all the traits studied revealing the presence of additive genes in the trait and suggested reliable tea crop improvement through selection of the traits. Significant and positive correlation was observed among all the traits, indicating that these traits are genetically interlinked and which may facilitate indirect selection of one trait for the other trait that is genetically interlinked.