Evaluation of Genetic Variation for Yield and Growth Traits in Different Types of Oats (Avena sativa L.)
Udit Pandey
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj, UP (211010), India.
Sachchida Nand Mishra
*
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj, UP (211010), India.
Mudit Pandey
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj, UP (211010), India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The majority of the crop produced by cultivars was sown in the spring, however in places with a high elevation, genotypes are sown in the autumn, and locations with sweltering summers. This present study aimed to examine the level of genetic diversity within different genotypes of Oats (Avena sativa L.) for yield and other growth characters during the rabi season (2025-26). The research trial was conducted during the rabi season of 2025-26 at the Agricultural Research Farm of Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Naini, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. In the present investigation, 13 Oats genotypes were evaluated in a randomized block design method having three replications. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the genetic variation, heritability, genetic advance, correlation coefficient, path coefficient and genetic diversity (D²) analysis for yield and its contributing factors. Data were collected for 18 traits. Based on analysis of variance, revealed significant differences among all genotypes for all eighteen characters, indicating the presence of considerable genetic variability. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was more than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits. Correlation analysis revealed that seed yield plant⁻¹ (g) exhibited highly significant positive association with seeds per panicle, tillers count per plant, leaves count per plant, width of flag leaf (cm) and harvest index (%). Path coefficient analysis indicated that seeds per panicle and Seed yield plot⁻¹ (kg) exerted the highest positive direct effect on seed yield plant⁻¹ (g). The Mahalanobis D² and Tocher’s cluster analysis methods were used to determine divergence based on genetic diversity within different Oats genotypes. The total number of genotypes were divided into five groups. Group I had the highest number of genotypes, while group IV and V had only one genotype each, which indicated high differentiation among the genotypes. The highest inter-group distance was found between group II and group V. The lowest inter-group distance was found between group I and group IV. Based on cluster mean performance, cluster II appeared to be superior for yield-related traits, whereas cluster III had high biological yield (kg) and maturity period. Therefore, it may be concluded that highly diverged clusters, such as clusters II and V.
Keywords: Genetic variability, heritability, correlation coefficient, genetic diversity, Oats