Heterosis in landrace hybrids of post-rainy sorghum {Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench}

Twenty hybrids, derived from a line x tester trial, were evaluated in post-rainy season (rabi) during 2002–03 along with the parents and the checks. Heterosis over standard checks CSH 19R and M35-1 and better parent was studied for grain yield and its component characters. Negative heterosis over the checks for days to flowering and plant height was observed for most of the hybrids indicating their earliness and at par status for height. Heterosis for test weight over CSH 19R was higher and significant for all the hybrids. The cross 117AxPU 28 was the highest yielding, exhibiting significant heterosis over better parent and both the checks. Among landraces, PU 28 and PU 16 proved to be better because of their good combining ability and could be utilized as restorers for commercial exploitation of heterosis.