Comparative study of the contribution of biometric characters on yield in dessert varieties of banana

Abstract

Investigations of twelve morphological characters were carried out on the crop raised at the KAU Banana Research Farm, Kannara. Fifty six dessert varieties of banana plants were grown in randomised blocks of three replications. The analysis revealed that all the twelve characters showed high significant difference among the varieties. All the phenotypic and genotypic correlations of the characters) with yield were positive. From the path coefficient analysis the character having maximum contribution to yield is 'weight of hands'. The 'weight of fingers' and 'number of fingers' also influence the yield indirectly. The genetic advance through discriminant function was found to be less than that through straight selection. Chenkadali and Red banana were the best two varieties selected through the method of selection indices.