GENETIC ANALYSIS OF TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum L.) GENOTYPES BASED ON NUTRITIONAL TRAITS

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh, during the months of October 2015 to April 2016 to study the genetic variability and inheritance in different agro-morphogenic and nutritional traits of tomato. Ten genotypes were used for the study. The genotypes were G1(SL-001), G2(SAU Tomato-1), G3(SAU Tomato-3), G4(SL-002), G5(SL-003), G6(SAU Tomato-4), G7(SAU Tomato-2), G8(BARI Tomato-3), G9(BARI Tomato-2) and G10(BARI Tomato-11). Data were recorded on (%) per cent of brix content, pH content, dry matter content, moisture content, vitamin C content, lycopene content at 472nm and 502nm. The genotype G7 showed the best performance for lycopene content, vitamin C content and brix content. In terms of pH content, dry matter content and moisture content genotype G1, G2 and G9 showed the best performance respectively. Narrow gap between PCV and GCV for lycopene content, vitamin C content, brix content, dry matter content and moisture content suggested that environmental influence was minor on the expression of the genes controlling these traits and selection based upon the phenotypic expression of these characters would be effective for the improvement of this crop. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance in percent of mean were observed in lycopene content, vitamin C content and dry matter content. Hence, these characters are highly heritable and there is a wide scope for improvement through selection of these traits. Most likely the heritability of these traits is due to additive gene effects and selection may be effective in early generations for these traits. In the phenotypic correlation coefficient, a high positive significant correlation of brix with vitamin C and lycopene content whereas, dry matter content significant and negatively correlated with moisture content and lycopene content. The genotypic correlation coefficient revealed positive and significant association of brix with vitamin C content, and lycopene content whereas, it had negative significant correlation with moisture content. Path analysis of direct and indirect effects revealed that lycopene content and brix exerted direct positive effect on moisture percentage whereas the direct effect of pH, dry matter content and vitamin C content were negative direct effect on moisture percentage. G1(SL-001), G2(SAU Tomato-1), G7(SAU Tomato-2) and G9(BARI Tomato-2) genotypes could be recommended to the farmers for cultivation for nutrition and medicinal value, it will be possible to fulfill nutritional, food security and economic demand of Bangladesh and could also be used in future hybridization or other gene transfer programs.