Variability, Heritability, Genetic Advance and Interrelationships for Agronomic and Yield Traits of Sorghum B-Lines under Different Environments

Information on heritability and trait association in crops assist breeders to allocate resources necessary to effectively select for desired traits and to achieve maximum genetic gain with little time and resources. The objectives of this investigation were to determine the amount of genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance and strength of association of yield related traits among sorghum lines under different environments in Egypt. Six environments with 25 sorghum B-lines were at two locations in Egypt (Giza and Shandaweel) in two years and two planting dates in one location (Giza). A randomized complete block design was used in each environment with three replications. Significant variation was observed among sorghum lines for all studied traits in all environments. Across environments, grain yield/plant (GYPP) showed positive and significant correlations with number of grains/plant (r = 0.71), days to flowering (r = 0.47), 1000-grain weight (r = 0.16) and plant height (PH) (r = 0.19). In general, the estimates of phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV). Combined across the six environments, the highest PCV and GCV was shown by PH trait (95.14 and 43.57%) followed by GYPP (36.42 and 30.78%), respectively, indicating that selection for high values of these traits of sorghum would be effective. GYPP and PH traits showed high heritability associated with high genetic advance from selection, indicating that there are good opportunities to get success in improvement of these traits via selection procedures. Results concluded that PH is good selection criterion for GYPP and therefore selection for tall sorghum plants would increase grain yield.