Abstract

The present investigation was planned and executed during spring and summer seasons of 2007 to 2010 at Vegetable Experimental Farm, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Main Campus, Chatha. The experimental material include 60 diverse genotypes of tomato collected from various places including Indian Institute of Vegetable Research Institute (IIVR) Varanasi Uttar Pradesh and some local cultivars. The observations were recorded on yield and quality traits to generate information regarding the extent of genetic variability, heritability and expected genetic advance. Analysis of coefficient of variation revealed that the magnitude of the phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than that of the genotypic coefficient of variation for all the seven characters under study. The highest values of the phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were recorded for fruit yield, number of locules per fruit and pericarp thickness. High genotypic coefficients of variation (GCV) were recorded for yield polygalacturonase activity and pericarp thickness. High heritability was recorded for most of the characters, namely, pericarp thickness, polygalacturonase activity and alcohol insoluble solids. The above results are quite encouraging for advancing in tomato breeding.

Key words: Germplasm evaluation, tomato, genotypes.