Combining Ability Analysis for Achene Yield and Related Components in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)

Abstract For determination of best general and specific combiners for achene yield and related components, a study on a 7×7 diallel fashion in sunflower was conducted at experimental field of Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The data were recorded on quantitative traits; days to maturity, plant height, stem diameter, head diameter, number of leaves, Achene per head, achene yield per plant, 100-achene weight, filled achene percentage and oil contents and subjected to Analysis of variance and combining abilities. The accessions were significant for studied traits except oil contents. The accessions A-544, A-554 and A-552 showed significant general combining ability effects days to maturity, plant height, stem diameter, head diameter, number of leaves and filled achene, achene per head and achene yield per plant. The best cross combination A-546×A-560 showed significant specific combining ability effects for number of leaves and filled achene percentage. Among reciprocal crosses, the cross A-560×A-534 proved best for plant height and stem diameter while A-548×A-546 for number of leaves and achene per head.