The Estimate of Heterosis and Combining Ability Some Morphological Characters in Tomato Transplants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.)

To examine the combining abilities of nine tomato lines, parental lines (Supc (P1), Pte12 (P2), Mb3 (P3), Supl44 (P4), Vfj (P5), Ptk (P6), Sps (P7), Csh74 (P8) and Prg (P9)) were placed in a complete diallel crosses design (9×9). In the second year, hybrids with the parents in a randomized complete block design with three replicates were examined. Traits examined were: days to 50% seed emergence, plant height (cm), number of leaves to first inflorescence, days from germination to first inflorescence. The results showed the rule of both additive and non-additive gene action for control of all traits except plant height. The crosses Sps×Mb3, Vfj×Pte12 and Prg ×Supc were the earliest hybrids among 72 hybrids studied. The heterosis showed a good response to number of days to 50% seed emergence and days to first inflorescence.