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Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, S.V. Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati-517 502.
Forty foxtail millet germplasm accessions including two checks (SiA 3156 and SiA 3159) were studied for 18 yield and morpho-physiological traits to estimate genetic parameters, including variability, per se performance, heritability, and genetic advance as per cent of mean (GAM) at wetland farm, S. V. Agricultural College, Tirupati, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh, during rabi 2024–25. The analysis of variance confirmed substantial variation across all traits, with accessions SiA 4322, SiA 4227, and SiA 4350 demonstrating superior performance for most traits accompanied with high grain yield per plant, suggesting their potential for commercial cultivation after assessing in multi-location trials. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) slightly exceeded the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV), indicating environmental influence on trait expression. Traits such as transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, straw yield per plant, and grain yield per plant exhibited high PCV and GCV, contributing significantly to variability and selection potential. High heritability coupled with high GAM was noticed for traits viz., plant height, panicle length, specific leaf area, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance, protein content, straw yield per plant, and grain yield per plant indicated that these traits were administered by additive gene action, enabling improvement through direct selection.
KEYWORDS: Foxtail millet, Variability, PCV, GCV, Genetic advance, GAM, Heritability and Yield.