Variability studies on yield and yield governing traits in fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) genotypes

Genetic variability was studied in a set of 40 genotypes of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Miller) grown at department of Seed Technology, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agriculture University, Sardarkrushinagar. The experiment was conducted during Rabi 2019-2020 in Randomized Block Design with three replications. Observation on five randomly selected plants were recorded for days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of branches per plant, number of umbels per plant, number of umbellets per main umbel, number of seeds per main umbel, 1000-seed weight and volatile oil content in seed. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant genotypic difference among 40 genotypes for all the characters under study. Indicating the presence of wide range of variation in the material. High genotypic variances were observed for days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of umbels per plant, number of umbellets per main umbel, seeds per main umbel and seed yield per plant. The genotypic coefficient of variation was highest for number of umbels per plant followed by number of umbellets per main umbel, seeds per main umbel, volatile oil content in seed (%) and seed yield per plant (g). Heritability estimates were high for Seed oil content followed by seed yield per plant, seeds per umbel, 1000-seed weight, Number of umbels per plant, number of umbellates per main umbel, number of branches per plant, plant height and days to flowering. High genetic advance as per cent of mean was recorded for seed yield per plant followed by seeds per umbel, volatile oil content, number of umbellates per main umbel, number of umbels per plant, 1000-seed weight and number of branches per plant.