Genetic variability and correlation analysis for zinc deficiency tolerance in RIL population of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Genetic variability is the fundamental requirement of any crop breeding program to develop superior cultivars. The objective of this study was to estimate the genetic variability, heritability and correlation among the fourteen quantitative traits of two hundred and thirty eight Recombinant Inbred Lines (RILs) under zinc deficient condition. The analysis of variance revealed significant differences for all the traits under study, indicating the presence of high genetic variability among the lines. Phenotypic coefficients of variances (PCV) were higher than genotypic coefficients of variances (GCV) in all the traits across the two locations of BHU and Faizabad. Broad sense heritability (h2) of Days to 50 % flowering was highest in both the locations suggesting that the traits were primarily under genetic control. The highest GA% was observed in Zn Scoring followed by Plant Mortality. Grain Yield per Plant is highly correlated in all the traits except Thousand Grain Weight and Panicle Length in BHU.