Genetic variability, correlation and path analysis of upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm for seed cotton yield

One hundred upland cotton germplasm accessions were evaluated for eight traits to evaluate the per se performance, genetic variability, heritability, genetic advance as a per cent of mean, correlation and path analysis. The estimation of variability indicated that the number of monopodia per plant had high GCV and PCV. High heritability along with high GAM was found in plant height, internode length, the number of monopodia per plant, the number of sympodia per plant, the number of bolls per plant and seed cotton yield per plant which suggested that additive gene activity had a significant influence in the inheritance of these traits. Correlation analysis showed that the number of sympodia per plant, the number of bolls per plant and boll weight have a significant high positive correlation on the seed cotton yield. Path analysis showed that the number of bolls per plant and boll weight had the highest positive direct effect on seed cotton yield per plant.