Combining ability and heterosis using line by tester analysis on some hybrids of grain sorghum under normal and saline soil

Abstract

Twenty F 1 grain sorghum crosses, their parents (four CMS A-lines and five male R-lines) and one commercial check hybrid (H-306) were evaluated for yield and six other characters in 2020 and 2021 seasons at Arab El-Awamer Station, Assiut, Egypt under salt (S) and normal (N) soils. The obtained combined analysis showed highly significant differences between salinity treatments, genotypes and their interaction for all studied traits. The means of genotypes under normal soil were higher than the means of genotypes under salt soil for all traits except days to 50% flowering. Meanwhile, mean squares due to lines, testers and their interaction were significant or highly significant for almost studied traits. Mean crosses were higher than mean parent for all studied traits except days to 50% flowering. The best parents for general combining ability effects were BTX-807 and ICSV-112 for grain yield / plant under all environments (two salinity treatments and two years). The desirable crosses for specific combining ability for grain yield/plant were ICSA-88015 x ICSV-112, ATX-807 x RSH-19, ATX-807 x RSH-27, ASH-15 x Indian Exotic 27 and ASH-20 x ICSV-295) under all environments. The better crosses for heterosis relative to better parents were (ICSA-88015 x ICSV-112, ATX -807 x ICSV-112, ATX-807 x RSH-19, ATX-807 x RSH-27 and ASH-15 x Indian Exotic 27) under all environments. The best crosses for grain yield plant under normal and salt soil were ATX-807 x RSH-27and ASH-15 x Indian Exotic 27.