Abstract
All possible cross combinations involving five genotypes of wheat were evaluated for genetic variability and inheritance for number of productive tillers/plant, spike length, number of spikelets/spike, number of grains/spike, 1000-grain weight and grain yield/plant under rainfed conditions. The genotypes and their cross combinations exhibited significant differences for all the plant traits studied. A considerable amount of genetic variability present in the research material indicated the possibility of selection for further improvement. Broad sense heritability estimates were observed as 61.62, 72.05, 47.38, 75.58, 79.94 and 80.59% respectively, for number of productive tillers/plant, spike length, number of spikelets/spike, number of grains/spike, 1000-grain weight and grain yield/plant. Genetic advance values at 5% selection intensity were obtained as 0.967, 1.230, 1.336, 5.658, 4.110 and 1.826 respectively, for the plant traits studied. The study suggested that selection based on plant traits such as productive tillers/plant, spike length, grains/spike and 1000-grain weight could effectively be practiced for developing high grain yielding wheat varieties for the rainfed areas. Key words: Wheat, variability, broad sense heritability, genetic advance
