Heterosis Breeding for Quality Improvement in Hybrids to be Developed Specifically for Garhwal Hills in Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L. ), a solanaceae family vegetable, ranks second in importance after potato but tops the list of processed vegetables. Heterosis breeding is reliable and quick approach to gain maximum crop improvement. Six diverse tomato cultivars/ lines viz, Arka Saurabh, Arka Abha, Arka Meghali, Punjab Chhuhara, Best of All and Sioux, selected on the basis of high yield coupled with high quality, were crossed in a half diallel fashion to obtain fifteen cross combinations which were tested with two check cultivars HYB-Roop-666 and TS-15. Three cross combinations viz, Arka Meghali x Punjab Chhuhara, Arka Saurabh x Arka Abha and Arka Saurabh x Punjab Chhuhara resulted in significantly positive heterobeltiosis for pericarp thickness. For total soluble solids, positive and significant heterobeltiosis were observed in three cross combinations, viz, Arka Saurabh x Arka Meghali, Punjab Chhuhara x Best of All and Arka Meghali x Sioux. Best of All x Sioux and Punjab Chhuhara x Sioux showed highest significant positive heterosis over better parent for shelf life. While, for one of the most important quality trait lycopene content, Arka Saurabh x Arka Meghali, Arka Saurabh x Punjab Chhuhara, Arka Saurabh x Best of All and Arka Abha x Best of All resulted in significantly positive heterobeltiosis. Arka Saurabh x Arka Meghali was the best cross combination for Lycopene content and total soluble solids.