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Grains of eighteenth F2 generation produced by using Factorial Mating Design through hybridization between six parents as male named [ATTLA (1), MILAN (2), Acsad 8 (3), Acsad 17 (4), Noor (5) and Cross bred-6 (6)] and three parents as female named Mexipak (7), Aras (8) and Ipa 99 (9)] cultivated on 15 Nov. 2011 at the Agricultural Research Station/Salahaddin University/Erbil using a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications in order to select the best hybrids. Some growth traits and yield and its components were studied, and the path coefficient analysis, discriminant function and heterobeltiosis were estimated. The results showed significant genotypic, phenotypic and environment variation in all characters. Moderate values of heritability in broad sense were exhibited for plant height (52.99%), spike length (49.94%), 1000-grain weight (50.18%) and grain yield/plant (41.65%). High genetic advance were found in grain yield/plant. Significant positive phenotypic and genotypic correlation was observed between grain yield/plant and all characters except flag leaf area. The genotypic correlation coefficients were higher than their respective phenotypic ones. Phenotypic path coefficient analysis showed that high and positive phenotypic direct effects on grain yield were exhibited only by biological yield/plant (3.24). While highest positive genotypic direct effects on grain yield were exhibited by grain number/spike (0.74) and spike number/plant (0.62). The results of discriminant function indicated that the inclusion of grain number/spike increased the efficiency of the discriminant function by 22.10% than direct selection for grain yield/plant alone, which was used as a criterion for the selection of superior genotypes. The genotypes which gave high values in the selection index also gave a high values in the productivity score. Based on that and if we want to select 10% of the better genotypes, we selected [7 × 3], [7 ×5], [7 × 2] and [7 × 6] genotypes which showed also desirable heterobeltoises in most traits in order to continue the breeding for the F3 and next generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty five fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis) genotypes were grown at two locations (Abeokuta and Akure) in a randomized complete block design with three replications during the rainy season of year 2013 to evaluate genotypic and phenotypic character association and path analysis of marketable leaf yield. The mean squares of the combined analysis of variance revealed significant genotypes, locations and genotype x environment (location) interactions (GEI) on most of the characters. Genotypic correlation coefficients were higher than phenotypic correlation coefficients in most cases. Vine length, number of leaves, number of branches, leaf fresh weight, vine fresh weight and vine girth correlated positively (genotypic and phenotypic) with marketable leaf yield in both locations. Path analysis indicated that vine length, leaf area and leaf width imparted significant direct influence on marketable leaf yield and hence these traits could be used as selection criteria for improved marketable leaf yield. Significant GEI caused differences in the results of correlation and path analyses obtained across the two locations. Therefore, selection based on result of a single location or single season trial could be misleading because of the effect of GEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The critical assessment of the nature and magnitude of variability in the available germplasm and finding out associations among yield and its contributing characters are the pre-requisites to any breeding program. Keeping these points in view, genetic variability and interrelationship among 10 quantitative characters were studied in a set of 27 lentil genotypes during two growing seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The field experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design and conducted at the research farm, Scientific Agricultural Research Center of Dara'a, GCSAR, Syria. The results showed that sufficient variability was present among the genotypes for all the characters studied. The component of genotypic variance of characters like number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant, 100-seed weight, biological yield, harvest index, and seed yield was higher than the environmental variance component; indicating that the genotypic component was the major contributor to total or phenotypic variance. Generally, the values of PCV were higher than the corresponding ones of GCV for all the characters, but in many cases, both values differed only slightly. Characters like number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant, biological yield and seed yield have recorded accompanied high estimates of GCV, heritability and genetic advance over character mean. The seed yield showed positive and highly significant associations with number of primary branches per plant and biological yield at the both genotypic and phenotypic levels. The highest positive direct effects have belonged to number of primary branches per plant followed by plant height and days to 50 % flowering; suggesting the importance of these characters and necessity of adoption them as selection criteria for seed yield improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]