Morphological characterization and selection of early maturing Brassica napus accessions

Abstract

Brassica napus is an important oilseed crop with an indeterminate growth habit. Farmers prefer major crops and avoid cultivation of Brassica napus due to its delay in maturity. Its sowing competes with the sowing of wheat. So the main objective of the research was the characterization of locally adapted germplasm and the selection of early maturating genotypes to avoid its competition with wheat. Twenty-seven accessions of Brassica napus were collected to estimate the genetic diversity of morphological characters under field conditions by using RCBD with 3 replications. Collected data for different quantitative No. of main branches, plant height, No. of secondary branches, silique length, leaf area, days to 50% blooming, days to 50% ripeness and qualitative traits (leaf shape, leaf colour, pod shape, petiole shape, seed colour, seed shape). Significant variations were estimated among quantitative characters. Minimum days to 50% blooming were observed for G16 and G18. Minimum days to 50% maturity were observed for G16 and G19. Accessions that were observed with minimum days to 50% flowering and minimum days to 50% maturity could be utilized in future breeding programs for early maturity of Brassica napus. A maximum No. of plants had lanceolate green leaves, cylindrical silique, round petioles and black seeds with round shape. Plant height and No. of secondary twigs/plants had substantial genotypic correlation with thousand seed weight and seed yield/plant. Except for plant height, secondary twigs, silique size, and days to 50% flowering, all the characteristics had a positive direct impact on seed weight per 1000.