Abstract

The fruits of aonla (Phyllanthus embilica L.) were collected from four natural sites and were subjected to various morpho-chemical components for estimation. The observed variation was partitioned into heritable and non-heritable components in order to identify the characters for which selection will be most effective. This study revealed that morpho-chemical characters of P. embilica exhibited considerable genetic variability in fruit morphology, especially those based on fruit weight, which has high genotypic variation, higher heritability and greater potential for genetic gain.Vitamin C had moderate genetic variance, moderate heritability but greater genetic gain. Selection can therefore be effective based on these two characters and their phenotypic expression should be an indication of their high genotypic potential.

Key words: Phyllanthus emblica, fruit length, fruit weight, moisture percent, genetic variation, heritability.