Combining Ability Studies for Flower Yield and Its Contributing Traits in Gaillardia (Gaillardia pulchella L. Foug.) in the Northern Dry Zone of Karnataka, India

The present study was carried out at Department of Floriculture and landscape Architecture, UHS, Bagalkot, Karnataka. With the aim to elucidate the combining ability variances and effects of parents (7 lines and 3 testers) crossed in Line x Tester mating design that resulted in 21 F1s which is found to be play pivotal role in selection of parental genotypes for hybridization and also to select best specific combination for specific trait among the F1s. The elucidation of general and specific combining ability variances and effects were done upon 09 different traits that included, growth, earliness, yield and quality traits of gaillardia. The results of analysis of variance for combining ability anticipated the presence of both additive and non-additive gene actions which were confirmed by the ratios of combining ability variances as a major role via non-additive gene actions for all the traits studied. The combining ability studies inferred that UHS-BGC 9 (L4), UHS-BGC 2 (T1) and UHSBGL-3 (T2) as good general combiners for most of the traits studied including flower yield per plant, while among the crosses, the cross combination, UHS-BGC 7 × UHSBGL- 12 (L2 x T3) was found to be the good specific combination for most of the growth, earliness and yield traits of gaillardia.