Case Study Of Linseed

INTRODUCTION

Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.; n = 15) belongs to family Linaceae. It is the only economically important species in the family and is one of the major agro-industrial oilseed crops. Linum usitatissimum L. is an annual, self pollinating and non-edible oil crop. It is the sole species of agricultural importance within the family Linaceae and belongs to group of founder crops that initiated agriculture in “old world” (Zohary, 1999). Linseed oil and meal are the two products provided by the seeds on account of its quick drying properties. Linseed oil is extensively used in industry for the manufacturing of high quality varnish, paints, oilcloth, linoleum, printer ink, patent leather, tarpaulins, stickers, soaps etc. The oil content

For improvement in yield, it would be desirable to understand the nature and magnitude of associations among yield and its component traits ( Iqbal et al., 2013). Better understanding of the contribution of component traits in building the genetic make-up of the crop can be obtained through correlation. To bring about a genetic improvement in any segregating population the knowledge of association between yield and yield related traits will trigger the selection efficiency (Asish et al. 2008). Based upon genotypic and phenotypic correlation, the breeder would be able to decide the breeding methods to be used to exploit desirable and break the undesirable associations. Principal component analysis (PCA) provided with the information about the importance of the largest contributor to total variation at each axis of differentiation (Sharma, 1998). Clustering genotypes according to their morphological and behavioral response helps breeder to draft a standing genetic variability (Hair et al. 1995). The aim of the present study to estimated genotypic and phenotypic association of plants traits towards seed yield, their inter dependence, their direct and indirect effects. Further estimation of genetic diversity to group the genotypes of similar behavior in a

Such information may be useful in predicting correlated responses of different characters towards directional selection. Keeping seed yield per plant as resultant variable and other traits as causal variables, the following results were obtained. According to the results shown in Table 3, seeds per capsule exerts maximum direct effect on seed yield per plant followed by harvest index and biological yield per plant width while days to 50 per cent flowering and secondary branches per plant showed negative direct effects on seed yield per plant at both (genotypic and phenotypic) levels. Also we see that seeds per capsule exerts maximum indirect effect via harvest index followed by biological yield per plant on seed yield per plant and harvest index has maximum indirect effects followed by biological yield per plant via seeds per capsules on seed yield per plant. Seed yield had maximum genotypic and phenotypic correlation with seeds per capsule followed by harvest index and biological yield per plant, So direct selection of plants based on these three traits i.e., seeds per capsule, harvest index and biological yield per plant would be effective to increase seed