Genetic Variability for Morphological and Biochemical Traits among the Interspecific F4-5 Populations of Brassica Species

The study was carried out to determine genetic variability, heritability, and genetic progress among the F4-5 population of Brassica species for several biochemical and morphological traits at Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan, during the Rabi season 2018-19. In Pakistan, Brassica are economically important and high yielding oil seeds and it is needed to produce improved Brassica varieties for successful expansion of cultivation of oilseed crops. The genetic variability among 51 populations (genotypes) of four interspecific crosses Bn-531xBr-118, Bn-525xBr-118, Bn-514xBj-109 and Bn-510xBj-109 with six parents of Brassica species in paired rows of 4 m length with a spacing of 30 x 10-15 cm (row × plant). Data were recorded on ten different agro-morphological characters and six biochemical traits. The interspecific crosses of Brassica species highly performed all types of morphological traits in populations viz; 142, 129, 196, 186 and 142. Biochemical traits are highly performed in interspecific crosses of F4-5 populations other than parental genotypes. Majority had high to moderate heritability, whereas greatest had less environmental and genetic influence in the expression of these characters and had high heritability with substantial genetic advance. Interspecific crosses showed superior diversity for various traits and thus give a unique opportunity in further evaluation of these materials for profitable exploitation in next generations.