Evaluation of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance in forty genotypes of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for yield and yield contributing traits

Introduction

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L,) 2n = 2X = 24, belongs to the Solanaceae family. Tomato is also known as the wolf apple or vilayati apple. It originated in the Peru-Ecuador region of South America (Rick,1969) [18] . Tomatoes are commonly considered a "protective food," as they contain high amounts of several nutritive phytochemical compounds, especially carotenoids such as lycopene and β-carotene (provitamin A), flavonoids, phenolic acids, ascorbic acid, and minerals such as calcium, iron, and phosphorus (Kiran et al., 2020) [11] . A hundred grams of edible tomato parts contains 0.9 g protein, 0.1 g fat, 0.7 g fiber, 3.5 g carbohydrates, 15-20 calories of energy, 500-1500 IU vitamin A, 0.1 mg thiamine, 0.02 mg riboflavin, 0.6 mg niacin, 20-25 mg vitamin C, 6-9 mg calcium, and 0.1-0.3 mg iron (Gangwar et al., 2023) [5] . India ranks second after China in tomato production, with a total production of 20.59 million tonnes in an area of 8.10 lakh hectares in 2024-25. Among the states, Madhya Pradesh leads in production, accounting for nearly 13.12% of the national share (27 lakh tonnes), followed by Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Uttar Pradesh has also emerged as an important tomato-growing state, with a production of 1.024 million tonnes from 25.47 thousand hectares (Anonymous, 2024) [2] . Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance analysis are crucial in tomato breeding, as they help determine the level of genetic diversity in tomato crops and select the best genotypes. Genetic variability is the key to crop improvement and the production of high-yield varieties. The greater the genetic variability, the greater the probability of producing recombinants. Studies on genetic variability help in the selection of diverse and desirable parents for further improvements. Heritability is the level of genetic determination of a trait, whereas genetic advance indicates the effectiveness of selection. High heritability, together with high genetic advance, is considered highly reliable for genetic gain under selection (Rasheed et al., 2023) [17] .

Materials and Methods

The experiment was conducted at the Main Experimental Station, Department of Vegetable Science, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, during the Rabi Season of 2024-25. The Experimental Site coordinates were 26.54°N latitude and 81.84°E longitude, with an altitude of 93 m above mean sea level (AMSL). The site has a humid subtropical climate with an annual rainfall of approximately 1,200 mm. During the cropping season, the temperatures ranged from 4.0 to 39.6°C. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized block design (C.R.B.D.) with three replications to evaluate 40 tomato genotypes along with one check variety, Kashi Aman (Table 1). Standard agronomic practices and recommended plant protection measures were implemented throughout the cropping period to ensure optimal plant growth. Observations were made on five randomly chosen plants for 20 qualitative and quantitative characters, including days to 50% flowering, days to first flower appearance, days to fruit set, days to first fruit harvest, plant height, leaf length, leaf width, fruit length, fruit width, number of locules, average fruit weight, number of fruits per cluster, number of fruits per plant, pericarp thickness, total soluble solids, lycopene content, ascorbic acid content, titratable acidity, fruit yield per plant, and fruit yield per hectare. Analysis of variance was calculated by the procedure given by Panse and Sukhatme (1967) [13] . Phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were estimated using the procedure given by Burton and Devane (1953) [4] . GCV and PCV values were categorized according to the scale proposed by Sivasubramanian and Menon (1973) [21] . Values ranging from 0-10% are considered low, values between 10 and 20% as medium, and values above 20% are classified as high. Heritability in the broad sense (h 2 bs) was calculated using the formula given by Allard (1960) [1] , while heritability values were classified as per Robinson et al. (1955) [8] . Values ranging from 0-30% are considered low, values between 30-60% are categorized as medium and the values estimated above 60% are considered as high. Genetic advance percent of mean (GA%) was estimated by the method suggested by Hanson et al. (1956) [7] , whereas the Genetic advance percent of mean values ranging from 0-10% are considered low, values between 10-20% are categorized as medium and values above 20% are regarded as high, are classified as per the method of Johnson et al. (1955) [8] .

Result and Discussion

Analysis of Variance

The analysis of variance (Table -2) indicated that the mean square due to genotypes were highly significant for all the 20 traits studied namely days to 50% flowering, days to first flower appearance, days to fruit set, days to first fruit harvest, plant height, leaf length, leaf width, fruit length, fruit width, number of locules, average fruit weight, number of fruits per cluster, number of fruits per plant, pericarp thickness, total soluble solids, lycopene content, ascorbic acid content, titratable acidity, fruit yield per plant, and fruit yield per hectare, offering ample scope for improving fruit yield and its contributing traits in tomato. Similar results for the number of fruits per plant, fruit length, pericarp thickness, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid, number of locules and average fruit weight were reported by Gopal et al.

(2023) [6] , Khokar (2023) [10] , Pathak et al. (2024) [14] , Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] , Singh et al. (2021) [20] and Thakur et al. (2025) [23] , for the fruit yield per plant was by Khokar (2023) [10] , Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] , Rasheed et al. (2023) [17] , Suresh et al. (2024) [22] and Yeasmin et al. (2023) [24] . Significant variations in lycopene and titratable acidity were observed by Suresh et al.

Coefficient of Variation

The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) values were slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) values for all characters, indicating the influence of environmental factors on trait expression. The narrow differences between GCV and PCV for most traits indicated that environmental influence was relatively low and that genetic factors predominantly controlled these traits. High magnitudes of phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were observed for pericarp thickness, fruit yield per plant, number of locules, leaf width, yield per hectare, lycopene content, plant height, leaf length, average fruit weight, and ascorbic acid content (Table 3). Similar result for pericarp thickness, number of locules, plant height and average fruit weight reported by Gopal et al. (2023) [6] , Yeasmin et al. (2023) [24] , Shaikh et al. (2021) [19] , while fruit yield per plant and yield per hectare also reported by Gopal et al. (2023) [6] , Yeasmin et al. (2023) [24] and Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] and for lycopene reported by Thakur et al. (2025) [23] and Shaikh et al.

(2021) [19] , while ascorbic acid reported by Thakur et al. (2025) [23] . Moderate variation of phenotypic and genotypic coefficients were recorded for fruit length, total soluble solids content, number of fruits per cluster, titratable acidity, number of fruits per plant, and fruit width. Similar results for fruit length and fruit width reported by Yeasmin et al. (2023) [24] and Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] , while total soluble solids by Shaikh et al. (2021) [19] and Pathak et al. (2024), whereas number of fruits per cluster by Thakur et al. (2025) [23] and Pathak et al. (2024) [14] , number of fruits per plant by Gopal et al. (2023) [6] and titratable acidity by Kherwa et al. (2020) [9] . Low phenotypic and genotypic values were observed for days to first fruit harvest, days to fruit set, days to 50% flowering, and days to first flower appearance. Similar results for days to first fruit harvest, days to fruit set, days to 50% flowering and days to first flower appearance reported by Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] , while days to first flower appearance by Shaikh et al. (2021) [19] and Thakur et al. (2025) [23] , whereas days to 50% flowering by Gopal et al. (2023) [6] and Pathak et al. (2024) [14] .

The heritability estimates for the 20 traits varied significantly, indicating differences in the degree of genetic control among the characters studied. High heritability was recorded for pericarp thickness, ascorbic acid, lycopene, fruit length, TSS, leaf width, titratable acidity, plant height, leaf length, average fruit weight, number of locules, fruit yield per plant and yield per hectare, indicating that these traits are predominantly governed by genetic factors with minimal environmental influence. Similar results of high heritability for these traits were reported by Anuradha et al.

(2020) [3] , Kherwa et al. (2020) [9] , Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] , Gopal et al. (2023) [6] , Mitra et al. (2023) [12] , Suresh et al. (2024) [22] , Rajanikant et al. (2025) [16] and Thakur et al. (2025) [23] . High heritability was also observed for fruit width, number of fruits per plant, days to first flower appearance, number of fruits per cluster, days to 50% flowering and days to fruit set. Similar results for these traits were reported by Singh et al. (2021) [20] , Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] , Yeasmin et al. (2023) [24] , Pathak et al. (2024) [14] and Suresh et al. (2024) [22] , whereas days to first fruit harvest exhibited low heritability, similar was reported by Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] . Genetic advance (GA) as percent of the mean for 20 traits studied, was highest for pericarp thickness, followed by fruit yield per plant, number of locules, leaf width, lycopene content, yield per hectare, plant height, leaf length, ascorbic acid, average fruit weight, fruit length, TSS, number of fruits per cluster, titratable acidity, number of fruits per plant, and fruit width. These traits exhibited high genetic advance coupled with high heritability, suggesting the predominance of additive gene action and greater effectiveness of direct selection. Similar results for high genetic advance in pericarp thickness, fruit yield per plant, number of locules, lycopene content, yield per hectare, plant height, ascorbic acid, average fruit weight, fruit length, TSS, number of fruits per cluster were reported by Anuradha et al. (2020) [3] , Kherwa et al. (2020) [9] , Yeasmin et al. (2023) [24] , Mitra et al. (2023) [12] and Rajanikant et al. (2025) [16] , while high genetic advance for number of fruits per plant, fruit width and titratable acidity as reported by Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] . Moderate genetic advance as percent of mean was recorded for days to first flower appearance, days to 50% flowering and days to fruit set. Similar results for the days to first flower appearance were reported by Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] and Anuradha et al. (2020) [3] , while for days to 50% flowering were reported by Mitra et al. (2023) [12] , Gopal et al. (2023) [6] , Pathak et al. (2024) [14] and Singh et al. (2021) [20] . Days to the first fruit harvest showed low genetic advance as percent of mean. Similar result were reported by Prajwalitha et al. (2022) [15] and Rajanikant et al. (2025) [16] .

Conclusion

This investigation was undertaken to evaluate the genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance among 40 tomato genotypes. Analysis of variance showed highly significant differences for all the characters among the genotypes, indicating the presence of a considerable degree of genetic variability. Phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than Genotypic coefficient of variation for all characters, indicating the influence of the environment on character expression. Both PCV and GCV high for traits pericarp thickness, plant height, ascorbic acid, fruit yield per plant, fruit yield per hectare, number of locules and leaf width, indicating the presence of high genetic variability. Furthermore, high heritability, coupled with high genetic advance for traits pericarp thickness, plant height, ascorbic acid, fruit yield per plant, fruit yield per hectare, number of locules, and leaf width, indicates the predominance of additive gene action and suggests that direct selection would be effective for their improvement.

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