Study of genetic variability and heritability of yield and its components in forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)

The present investigation was undertaken by using ten lines and four testers and their forty F1 made with the parents of forage sorghum genotype of diverse origin, which were grown in a Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) with three replications during kharif season 2017 \u0026 2018 were evaluated for eleven characters to study genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance. The ‘analysis of variance’ revealed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters i.e. days to 50% flowering, plant height, leaf length, leaf breadth, internode length, stem girth, leaves per plant, leaf area, leaf stem ratio, total soluble solids and green fodder yield per plant, which indicated that wide spectrum of variability among the genotypes. The highest genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) \u0026 phenotypic coefficient variation (PCV) was observed for leaf stem ratio, indicates that these attributes could be used as a selection for crop improvement. On the basis of high estimates of heritability coupled with high genetic advance was expressed as per cent of mean were observed for leaf breadth, leaf area, leaf stem ratio and green fodder yield per plant indicating a predominance of additive gene effects and possibilities of effective selection for the improvement of these characters.