STUDIES ON GENETIC VARIABILITY AND CHARACTERS ASSOCIATION OF FRUIT QUALITY PARAMETERS IN TOMATO

The genetic variability and characters association of different fruit quality parameters were studied in 15 tomato genotypes grown in a two year field experiments. High and moderate to high GCV and PCV were recorded for number of locules/fruit, fruit weight, total acid (%), number of fruits/plant, vitamin C (mg/100 g), fruit yield/plant, fruit length and pericarp thickness. High and moderate to high heritability coupled with high and moderate to high genetic gain in number of locules/fruit, fruit weight, fruit length, number of fruits/plant, pericarp thickness, vitamin C (mg/100 g) and total acid (%) indicated the predominance of additive gene action, and therefore, these are more reliable for effective selection. Correlation coefficient revealed that fruit yield per plant was positively and significantly correlated with pericarp thickness, fruit length, fruit weight and number of fruits/plant indicating relative importance of these characters for yield improvement. Significantly positive and negative associations among different fruit quality parameters were also observed in the present study. The path coefficient analysis revealed that number of locules/fruit, TSS, fruit length, number of fruits/plant, fruit weight, vitamin C content and pericarp thickness had positive direct effect on fruit yield, while fruit width and total acid content had strong negative effects on the fruit yield.