Aug 2026· Journal of Experimental Agriculture International· 0 citations
Abstract
Brassica juncea (L.) is a key oilseed crop that is extensively grown worldwide for edible oil and animal feed. However, various biotic and abiotic stresses, together with a narrow genetic base, keep productivity below the desired level, underscoring the need to expand the genetic base and utilise heterosis to develop superior cultivars with resistance or tolerance to major diseases. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate standard heterosis for seed yield and its attributing traits among 50 diverse cross combinations developed during Rabi, 2025 and evaluated during Rabi, 2026, along with the zonal (Rohini) and national (Kranti) checks at the Research Farm, Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Morena, RVSKVV, Gwalior, M.P., India, using putative donors for stem rot resistance. Significant variability existed for yield and its attributing characters, with seed yield per plant ranging from 11.2 g for the cross L-6 × BC1F5 of Pusa Jai Kisan × Brassica napus 114 to 42.0 g for the cross Pusa Bold × F3 of Pusa Jai Kisan × Brassica napus 114. Strong hybrid vigour was evident in cross combinations such as Varuna × BC1F5 of Pusa Jai Kisan × Brassica napus 114, Sej-2 × BC2F1 of Pusa Jai Kisan × Brassica napus 114, and Shraddha × BC2F1 of Pusa Jai Kisan × Brassica napus 114, which showed high positive heterosis for yield and its component traits, including number of siliquae per plant, number of seeds per siliqua, 1000-seed weight, and earliness. The yield potential of these crosses was further supported by architectural traits, including longer racemes and a higher number of branches per plant. These results highlight the potential of targeted hybridisation to overcome current yield constraints. These promising cross combinations indicate that heterosis breeding may be used to improve yield in Indian mustard while incorporating resistance to Sclerotinia stem rot disease.
Indian mustard belongs to the family Brassicaceae and the genus Brassica and is a major oilseed crop cultivated in India. Worldwide, it is the third-ranked oilseed crop in terms of consumption after palm oil and soybean. However, productivity remains below its potential because of various biotic and abiotic stressors coupled with a narrow genetic base, highlighting the need to broaden the genetic base and exploit heterosis to develop superior cultivars. Therefore, in the present study, general and specific combining ability analyses were conducted to assess the combining abilities of the parents and the performance of hybrids at the Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Morena, Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia Agricultural University, Gwalior, M. P., India, during Rabi 2026. During the present investigation, 16 yield-attributing traits were evaluated using 10 lines, 3 testers, and their thirty F1 hybrids developed through a line × tester mating design to estimate the magnitude and direction of combining abilities. Among the lines and testers, GCA effects showed that parents viz., Pusa Bold, Rohini, Varuna, and Vardhan were good general combiners because they exhibited desirable negative and highly significant GCA effects for days to 50% flowering, days to siliquae initiation, and plant height. However, Pusa Bold was recognized as a good general combiner because it displayed positive and highly significant GCA effects for the maximum number of quantitative traits, including seed yield per plant and harvest index. The cross-combination Pusa Jagannath × PAB-2014-4 had the highest SCA effect for seed yield per plant, biological yield, number of siliquae per plant and number of primary branches per plant, while Maya × PAB-2014-8 showed high SCA effects for seed yield per plant, biological yield and number of siliquae on the main raceme.
Soyal Davalasab Wathar, M. K. Tripathi, Jagendra Singh et al.· Plant cell biotechnology and...· 0 citations
Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) is an important oilseed crop contributing substantially to India’s edible oil production. The present investigation was undertaken to assess genetic variability among 30 Indian mustard genotypes evaluated for twelve quantitative traits. In Rabi, 2023–2024, the experiment was carried out at the Instructional Farm, Sri Karan Narendra College of Agriculture, Jobner, Jaipur, using a randomised block design with three replications. Significant differences between genotypes for every variable were found by analysis of variance, suggesting that there is sufficient genetic variability. The number of branches per plant showed moderate phenotypic variation (10 to 20 %), whereas the number of siliquae per plant and seed output per plant showed high phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation (>20 %). The majority of the remaining characteristics showed little phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation (<10 %). Plant height, days to maturity, oil content, days to 50 per cent flowering, siliquae per plant, seed production per plant and chlorophyll content all showed high heritability estimates, indicating little environmental influence. For certain traits, substantial heritability and moderate genetic advancement suggested that both additive and non-additive gene activity were involved, underscoring their value in selection for increased yield. Selection for traits exhibiting high heritability and genetic advance may facilitate the development of high-yielding Indian mustard varieties. Promising genotypes identified in present investigation may be employed in pedigree breeding, disruptive mating and recurrent selection breeding programme to combine favourable yield attributes in future Indian mustard cultivars.
Anchal Agarwal, Ram Kunwar, Deepak Gupta et al.· Electronic Journal of Plant...· 0 citations
The present study evaluated standard heterosis for seed yield and 15 associated traits in 40 cross combinations of Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.]. Crosses developed during Rabi 2025 were evaluated during Rabi 2026 at the Experimental Farm, Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Morena, Madhya Pradesh, India, in a randomized block design with three replications. The zonal check Maya and national check Kranti were used for comparison. Considerable variation in standard heterosis was observed across the 16 traits. For seed yield per plant, standard heterosis ranged from −55.62% to 54.07% over Maya and from −59.46% to 40.75% over Kranti. Vasundhara × PM-26 recorded the highest positive standard heterosis for seed yield per plant over both Maya (54.07%) and Kranti (40.75%). Pusa Bold × Pusa Vijay, Varuna × NPJ-253, Varuna × PM-28, Kranti × NPJ-253, Rohini × PM-28, Maya × Pusa Vijay and Pusa Bold × PM-28 also expressed significant positive heterosis over both checks. Different cross combinations showed desirable heterosis for earliness, reduced plant height, branching, siliquae number, seeds per siliquae, siliquae length, test weight, biological yield and harvest index. The results identify promising hybrid combinations for heterosis-based improvement of Indian mustard. Their performance should be confirmed through multi-location and multi-season evaluation before their use in further breeding or cultivar-development programmes.
S. Dhakad, M. K. Tripathi, Jagendra Singh et al.· International Journal of Pla...· 0 citations
This study evaluated heterosis and selected genetic parameters for 14 quantitative traits in brinjal (eggplant). Eight lines and three testers were crossed in a line × tester design to produce 24 F1 hybrids, which were evaluated during the rabi and kharif seasons of 2022–23. The experiment was conducted at the College Farm, College of Horticulture, Jagudan, and the Fruit Research Station, Dehgam, using a randomised block design with three replications. Standard agronomic practices were followed, and observations were recorded from six selected plants per treatment across replications for plant height, plant spread, flowering and picking traits, fruit yield, phenolic content and related characters. Heterosis was expressed as the percentage increase or decrease relative to the better parent (heterobeltiosis) and the standard check (standard heterosis). For plant height at 90 DAT, several crosses exhibited positive heterosis, with L5 × T1 and L7 × T2 recording the highest pooled standard heterosis values. L5 × T1 also performed best for plant height at the last picking and showed consistently favourable heterosis for plant spread in both the E–W and N–S directions. Desirable negative heterosis for days to first flower initiation and days to first picking was recorded in L3 × T1, L2 × T1 and L5 × T1. L3 × T1 and L5 × T1 exhibited desirable positive heterosis for days to last picking. These crosses may be useful for improving growth and flowering traits in brinjal, subject to further evaluation for yield, quality and stability.
N. Nadoda, H. R. Barot, D. Barot et al.· International Journal of Pla...· 0 citations
India relies on imports to meet nearly 70 % of its edible oil demand, underscoring an urgent need to improve domestic oilseed productivity. Rapeseed-mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Cosson), the second-largest oilseed crop in India, has experienced a yield plateau due to the exhaustion of genetic variability in conventionally bred varieties. Heterosis breeding through hybrid development offers the most promising strategy to break this stagnation, yet commercialisation remains critically dependent on efficient pollination control systems, primarily cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). A key challenge is the “biological penalty” imposed during CMS background conversion, wherein the combining ability and heterotic potential of superior genotypes may not remain intact, necessitating rigorous re-evaluation of converted lines. Public-sector brassica hybrids have largely failed to exceed the commercial heterosis threshold of 25–35 %. This review examines the fundamental requirements for hybrid development, the historical progression of breeding systems and the current status of major CMS systems (Ogura, Moricandia, Tournefortii and others) deployed in India, along with the challenges hindering adoption. The regulatory approval of the genetically engineered hybrid DMH-11-utilising the Barnase-Barstar system marks a significant milestone, offering stable and precise pollination control independent of alien cytoplasm constraints with a demonstrated 28–37 % yield advantage. Future strategies must focus on broadening the genetic base through alien introgression, developing defined heterotic pools and integrating genomic selection, gene editing and marker-assisted selection (MAS) with conventional breeding to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oil production.
K. Chandan, C. Khushboo, Shashikant et al.· Plant Science Today· 0 citations
Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek] is an important short-duration and widely adaptable pulse crop known for its nutritional andsoil-ameliorative properties. However, its productivity still lags due to photo- and thermo-period sensitivity, the seasonal specificity ofthe available cultivars, and susceptibility to a wide range of biotic and abiotic factors. Therefore, breeding for developing stable elitecultivars is urgently required to improve productivity. A total of 55 genotypes of mungbean, including released varieties and elitelines, were tested over a period of three years to identify the stable elite lines for high yield. A wide range of variability was recorded for seed yield per plant (SYP) and its key component traits. Based on correlation coefficient analysis, PL and NSP were found to be keycomponents. The significant interaction of genotype × year indicated the crucial role of the environment on SYP. The correlationcoefficient analysis revealed that pod length (PL) and number of seeds per pod (NSP) were key yield contributing traits. GGE biplotanalysis demonstrated that five genotypes, i.e. G42 (BMS 19-3), G17 (Shikha), G49 (ML 134), G18 (TRAM-18), and G27 (BMS 18-4), werefound most stable and high-yielding genotypes over the year. Further, the molecular characterisation of these selected genotypeswith SSR and functional markers opens the scope for their effective utilization in the mungbean breeding programme
Chandra Mohan Singh, Mukul Kumar, H. Kumar et al.· Indian Journal of Plant Gene...· 0 citations
