Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for growth and yield parameters in Helichrysum (Xerochrysum bracteatum (Vent.) Tzvelev)

Introduction

Helichrysum, commonly known as strawflower, everlasting flower or paper flower, is an attractive annual ornamental crop belonging to the family Asteraceae and is native to Australia. The species traditionally described as Helichrysum bracteatum is currently accepted botanically as Xerochrysum bracteatum (Vent.) Tzvelev. The crop is characterized by terminal flower heads surrounded by numerous colourful, stiff and papery involucral bracts that retain their colour and shape even after drying, making the crop particularly suitable for loose flower, cut flower and dried flower use. Despite its considerable ornamental and commercial potential, Helichrysum remains relatively less studied than major flower crops, and information on the extent of genetic variability available for important growth, flowering and yield attributes is comparatively limited. Genetic variability is the basic prerequisite for any crop improvement programme, since the effectiveness of selection depends upon the presence of adequate heritable variation among genotypes for economically important traits. Burton et al. (1953) [1] emphasized the usefulness of genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation for assessing the extent of variability in quantitative characters. However, variability alone does not establish whether a character can be improved effectively through selection; heritability, which represents the proportion of the observed variation attributable to genetic causes, must also be considered. Johnson et al. (1955) [2] recommended that heritability be interpreted together with genetic advance, since this combination provides a more reliable indication of the expected response to selection than heritability estimates alone. Characters exhibiting high heritability coupled with high genetic advance are generally governed by additive gene action and are therefore more amenable to improvement through direct phenotypic selection. The present investigation was therefore undertaken to evaluate twenty-five genotypes of Helichrysum for twelve growth, flowering and yield characters, with the objective of assessing the genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance present in the available germplasm, so as to identify characters and genotypes with the greatest potential for genetic improvement of this relatively under-exploited ornamental crop.

Materials and Methods

The present investigation was carried out during Rabi, 2025-26 at the AICRP on Floriculture, Zonal Agricultural Research Station, Ganeshkhind, Pune (18.32° N latitude, 73.85° E longitude; 557.74 m above mean sea level), Maharashtra, under the jurisdiction of Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri. The experimental site is situated in the Western Maharashtra Plain Zone and experiences a tropical climate with mild winters and moderate humidity; the temperature during the crop growth period ranged from about 11 °C to 36 °C. The soil of the experimental plot was red laterite soil of medium texture with good drainage. The experimental material comprised twenty-five genotypes of Helichrysum (GKHS-25-1 to GKHS-25-25) collected from farmers in and around Pune district, the Parks and Gardens of Pune University campus, the AICRP on Floriculture, ZARS, Pune, and from fields at Ooty, Tamil Nadu. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Block Design with two replications, at a spacing of 45 cm × 30 cm on a ridges-and-furrows layout, with a plot size of 2.7 m × 0.9 m accommodating eighteen plants per plot. Seeds were sown on 13 October 2025 and thirty-day-old seedlings were transplanted on 14 November 2025. A basal dose of compost @ 10 t/ha and N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O @ 150:75:75 kg/ha was applied, and cultural and plant-protection practices were followed uniformly for all the genotypes. Observations were recorded on five randomly selected and tagged plants per treatment for twelve quantitative characters, viz., plant height (cm), plant spread (cm), number of branches per plant, days to 50 per cent flowering, days to flower bud initiation, number of whorls of ray florets, flower diameter (mm), flowering duration (days), number of flowers per plant, weight of single flower (g), flower yield per plant (g) and flower yield per square metre (g). The data were subjected to analysis of variance as per the method described by Panse et al. (1985) [3] for a Randomized Block Design. Genotypic and phenotypic variances and their respective coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV) were computed following Burton (1952) [4] and categorized as low, moderate or high following the scale of Sivasubramanian et al. (1973) [5] . Broad-sense heritability was estimated as per Allard (1960) [6] and categorized following Robinson et al. (1949) [7] . Expected genetic advance at 5 per cent selection intensity (K = 2.06) and genetic advance expressed as a percentage of the mean (genetic gain) were computed following the methods of Allard (1960) [6] and Johnson et al. (1955) [2] , respectively, and categorized as low, moderate or high following Johnson et al. (1955) [2] .

Results and Discussion

Analysis of variance

The analysis of variance (Table 1) revealed highly significant differences among the twenty-five genotypes for all twelve characters studied, indicating the presence of appreciable genetic diversity in the experimental material and confirming the suitability of the genotypes for further genetic analysis.

Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance

The estimates of range, mean, GCV, PCV, broad-sense heritability and genetic advance as per cent of mean for the twelve characters studied are presented in Table 2.

Coefficient of variation

The genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) was consistently lower than the corresponding phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) for all twelve characters, indicating that the observed phenotypic variation, although predominantly genetic in nature, was also influenced to some extent by environmental factors. The lowest GCV (3.906%) and PCV (5.241%) were recorded for days to 50 per cent flowering, fol-lowed by days to flower bud initiation and flowering duration, indicating comparatively low variability for these phenological traits. In contrast, the highest GCV (24.713%) and PCV (25.350%) were recorded for weight of single flower, followed closely by flower yield per plant (GCV = 24.482%, PCV = 25.598%), number of whorls, flower yield per square metre and number of flowers, indicating the presence of considerable exploitable variability among the genotypes for these yield-related characters. These findings are in agreement with those of Baskaran et al. (2009) [8] , Prakash et al. (2017) [9] , Telem et al. (2017) [10] and Gaikwad et al. (2020) [11] in chrysanthemum, and Rai et al. (2017) [12] and Naikwad et al. (2018) [13] in China aster, all of whom reported higher PCV than GCV together with high variability for yield and yield-attributing characters.

Heritability (broad sense)

Heritability estimates in the present study ranged from 42.746 per cent (flowering duration) to 97.024 per cent (number of whorls). High heritability (>60%) was recorded for number of whorls (97.024%), weight of single flower (95.036%), flower yield per plant (91.469%), number of branches (89.128%), flower yield per square metre (87.661%), flower diameter (86.680%), plant height (85.115%), number of flowers (82.090%) and plant spread (81.169%), whereas moderate heritability was recorded for days to 50 per cent flowering (55.553%), days to flower bud initiation (45.931%) and flowering duration (42.746%). None of the characters exhibited low heritability. The consistently high heritability observed for most of the growth, flowering and yield characters indicated a substantial genetic contribution to their phenotypic expression, comparable to the high heritability estimates reported by Ghimiray et al. (2015) [14] in gerbera, Gobade et al. (2018) [15] and Latha et al. (2018) [16] in marigold, and Sushma Patil et al. (2019) [17] and Shingala et al. (2022) [18] in chrysanthemum.

Genetic advance as per cent of mean

High genetic advance as per cent of mean (> 20%) was recorded for weight of single flower (49.630%), flower yield per plant (48.234%), number of whorls (44.994%), flower yield per square metre (35.295%), number of flowers (34.976%), number of branches (33.456%), plant spread (23.240%) and flower diameter (20.274%). Plant height recorded a moderate genetic advance as per cent of mean (18.666%), while comparatively low values were recorded for flowering duration (6.669%), days to flower bud initiation (6.302%) and days to 50 per cent flowering (5.998%). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean, observed for weight of single flower, flower yield per plant, number of whorls, flower yield per square metre, number of flowers, number of branches, plant spread and flower diameter, indicated the predominance of additive gene action in the inheritance of these characters, suggesting that these traits could be effectively improved through simple phenotypic selection. Plant height, which exhibited high heritability but only moderate genetic advance, was likely influenced jointly by additive and non-additive gene effects, and improvement in this trait may therefore require a few generations of recombination followed by selection. In contrast, the comparatively low genetic advance recorded for days to 50 per cent flowering, days to flower bud initiation and flowering duration, despite their moderate heritability, indicated a greater relative influence of non-additive gene action and environment on these phenological characters, limiting the scope for improvement through direct selection alone. These results are broadly in agreement with the findings of Kumar et al. (2017) [19] , Reshma Negi et al. (2020a) [20] , Sharma et al. (2024) [21] and Kavana et al. (2025) [22] in chrysanthemum, and Modagi et al. (2024) [23] and Menkarani et al. (2025) [24] in China aster, all of whom reported high heritability coupled with high genetic advance for flower yield and its major component characters.

Conclusion

The present investigation revealed that the twenty-five Helichrysum genotypes evaluated possessed considerable genetic variability for growth, flowering and yield characters. Weight of single flower, flower yield per plant, number of whorls, flower yield per square metre, number of flowers, number of branches, plant spread and flower diameter exhibited high heritability together with high genetic advance as per cent of mean, indicating the predominance of additive gene action and good scope for their improvement through simple phenotypic selection. These characters may therefore be considered as reliable selection criteria for the genetic improvement of flower yield in Helichrysum, whereas improvement of phenological characters such as days to flowering and flowering duration may require more elaborate breeding strategies. The genotype GKHS-25-5 recorded superior mean performance for branching, flower diameter, single flower weight and flower yield per plant, and along with other highperforming genotypes identified in this study, merits further evaluation for potential use in future breeding programmes and commercial cultivation.

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