Journal of Applied Horticulture. 2003: 5(1): 27-28

Genetic studies in mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Dinesh, M R

Division of Fruit Crops, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta, Bangalore - 560 089, India.

A study was conducted in Bangalore, Karnataka, India to determine the presence of reciprocal effects and to assess the parents best suited for the transfer of desirable characters in commercial cultivars of mango. The cultivars Alphonso, Banganapalli, Neelum, Kalapadi and Janardhan Pasand were utilized for crossing, including reciprocals. The F1 intervarietal progenies of the combinations Alphonso x Banganapalli, Alphonso x Neelum, Alphonso x Kalapadi and Alphonso x Janardhan Pasand were evaluated for different characters, i.e. fruit weight, fruit volume, total soluble solids (TSS), skin weight, stone weight and pulp percentage. The study showed that non-additive variance controls the characters. Heritability was low and the chances of hybrid vigour manifesting for the characters in the F1 generation were high. Selection of progenies can be made based on fruit size, i.e. medium-sized fruits will have good TSS and big-sized fruits will decrease this character. For the characters studied, the phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation.