Study on genetic variability and heritability in cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. Cerasiforme) for yield and quality traits

The work was carried out in the experimental farm of the Department of Vegetable Science, Dr. Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P). The experiment was laid out in randomized block design comprising of 23 diverse genotypes of cherry tomato, which were replicated thrice to ascertain the extent of variability, heritability, genetic advance and gain for yield and other horticultural traits among the genotypes. Results revealed significant differences among all the genotypes for all the characters studied. Analysis of coefficient of variation revealed that the magnitude of the phenotypic coefficient of variation was slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation for all the studied traits. Further, high heritability along with high estimates of genetic gain was observed for the number of flowers per cluster, number of fruits per cluster, fruit length (mm), number of locules per fruit, pericarp thickness (mm), shelf life (days) and fruit yield per plot (kg). This indicates the predominance of additive component for these traits and hence direct selection would be more effective in improving these traits.