Diversity assessment of synthetic hybrids of banana developed through hybridization based on morphological and yield characters
1-2Department of Fruit Science, HCandRI, TNAU, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. 3Nammazhvar Organic Farming Research Centre, TNAU, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. 4ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Sunabeda, Odisha, India. 5Department of Horticulture (Fruit Science), School of Agricultural Sciences, Medziphema, Nagaland University, India. Corresponding e-mail: auxcilia@tnau.ac.in
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2026.v28i01.16
Full text PDF Banana is one of the most important fruit crops, cultivated extensively in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Among these, India emerges as the global leader in banana production, however, it is also accompanied by numerous challenges, especially in the face of biotic and abiotic stresses. These rising threats make the breeding programme focus on increasing the banana gene base to guide informed crosses and breeding programmes for the development of new and improved cultivars. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate 27 synthetic banana hybrids developed through hybridization, along with the 18 parents used to develop them, to explore diversity and assess the effectiveness of characters influencing yield and morphological traits. The result revealed high genetic variability, as indicated by significant GCV and PCV levels, suggesting potential for further improvement. The tetraploid hybrids- H-916 produced the highest bunch weight of 25.86 kg, while H-02-25 and H-02-34 showed better morphological vigour. Correlations between bunch weight and plant characteristics showed strong positive associations, but the number of suckers showed a negative association. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into four distinct clusters, revealing differences between and within ploidy levels. The growth characteristics of diploids and tetraploids displayed greater variability than those of triploids. The multivariate matrix showed how different traits relate to one another, highlighting the significance of additive genetic control. Overall, the research demonstrates that these hybrids have promising breeding potential and that genetic improvement is the most sustainable approach to enhancing hybrid resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses, as well as to increasing the gene bank, which can help identify elite lines for specific banana varietal improvement.
