Correlation and Path Analysis for Fiber Yield and Its Constituent Component Characters in Jute Mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.)

Introduction

Jute is a significant crop grown for its bast fibre, and there are two major cultivars: white jute (Corchorus capsularis L.) and tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius L.). Between 5 and 7 percent of the gross weight of harvested plants are made up of fibre. One of the most durable but also most affordable natural fibres, it is regarded as the fibre of the future. Breeding success for such a crucial crop depends on the availability of germplasm with a wide range of key characteristics that affect fibre yield. The current study seeks to evaluate this variability in a few chosen olitorius genotypes. Fourteen morpho-economic characters viz., plant height (cm), node number plant-1, internodes length (cm), basal diameter (cm), petiole length (cm), leaf area (cm2), bark thickness (cm) after 90 and 120 DAS, green weight (g) palnt-1, dry stick weight (g) plant-1, total chlorophyll in mg/g (chlorophyll ‘a’ and chlorophyll ‘b’) and dry fibre weight in mg/g palnt-1 were considered for evaluation of the germplasm.

Materials and Methods

The experimental material consisted of the thirty genotypes which were collected from ICAR- Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibers, Barrack pore, Kolkata, West Bengal, India through All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) project on Jute and Allied Fibers, Kalyani research center of BCKV, Mohanpur, West Bengal, India. The seed of thirty selected olitorius strains were sown on 11 April, 2020. The experiment was conducted in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two replications following recommended agronomic practices. There were two rows of 3 m length and distances of 30 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants. The mean data were obtained in respect of all the characters and subjected to various statistical analysia. Genetic variability parameters like GCV and PCV was calculated as per the standard formula. For estimation of heritability and GA, the method of ¹¹. Leaf area was measured using the factors as proposed by¹. Chlorophyll ‘a’ and chlorophyll ‘b’ were estimated following the method of Arnon. The path coefficient analysis was carried out at the genotypic level as recommended by the author²and discussed by³. The different characters considered in the present investigation were Plant height, node number plant^-1, internodes length, basal diameter, petiole length, leaf area, bark thickness after 90 and 120 DAS, green weight palnt^-1, dry stick weight plant^-1, total chlorophyll (chlorophyll ‘a’ and chlorophyll ‘b’) and dry fiber weight palnt^-1. 

Results and Discussions

All the characters except weight of dry stick plant^-1 had significant positive correlation with dry fiber weight plant^-1 both at phenotypic and genotypic levels. (Table: 1) The similar results were also reported by earlier authors i.e. ^{4, 5, 6}. Similarly, plant height and node number plant^-1showed significant association among themselves as well as with all the characters except dry stick weight at genotypic and phenotypic levels. The highest positive significant correlation was found between dry fiber weight plant^-1 and green weight plant^-1.

Table 1: Mean, range and other genetic parameters in jute (Corchorus olitorius L.)

SED: Standard error of a difference between 2 means; GCV: Genotypic coefficient variation; PCV: Phenotypic coefficient variation; ECV: Environmental coefficient variation; H^2: Heritability (broad sense); GA: Genetic advance.

The direct effects on dry fibre weight plant^-1 were found positive by plant height, internodes length, basal diameter, petiole length, thickness of bark at 90 and 120 days after growth, context of chlorophyll ‘b’, total chlorophyll in leaves and these characters may be considering during selection to improve fibre yield. ^{7, 8}observed these characters with high positive effect on yield of fibers. (Table: 2).

Table 2: Genotypic and phenotypic correlation among the fourteen characters of jute genotype (Corchorus olitorius L.) Click here to view Table

Where, PH (cm): Plant height; ND no. Plant^-1: Node number plant^-1; In ND length (cm): Internodes length;  BD (cm): Basal diameter; LA (cm²): Leaf area; PL (cm): Petiole length; BT (cm) 90 DAS: Bark thickness 90 DAS; BT (cm) 120 DAS: Bark thickness 120 DAS; GW (g) Plant^-1: Green weight plant^-1; DSW Plant^-1: Dry stick weight plant^-1, Ch (mg/g) ‘a’: Chlorophyll ‘a’; Ch (mg/g) ‘b’:  Chlorophyll ‘b’;  Tch (mg/g): Total chlorophyll; DFW (g) Plant^-1: Dry fibre weight plant^-1

Among different yield attributing characters the maximum positive direct effect on fibre yield was exerted by chlorophyll ‘b’ content in leaves followed by basal diameter and plant height. ^{9, 10} reported a similar observation of high positive effect of this character on yield of fibers.

Green weight per plant had negative direct effect on dry fibre yield but showed high positive correlation with fibre yield, which might be due to indirect contribution via basal diameter, plant height and chlorophyll ‘b’ content in leaf.

Chlorophyll ‘a’ had the negative effect on yield of fiber but showed significant correlation with  dry fiber weight plant^-1 which may be via indirect influence by basal diameter, plant height and chlorophyll ‘b’ content in leaf. Node number per plant had negative direct effects on dry fibre weight plant^-1, which corroborates the findings of ⁸ Most of the characters had high heritability¹² with moderate level of genetic advance which predicted the influence of  both non-additive and additive gene actions on the appearance of these characters with least influence of environment. (Table: 3).

Table 3: Path coefficient at genotypic level of fourteen characters in (Corchorus olitorius L.). Click here to view Table

Where, PH (cm): Plant height; ND no. Plant^-1: Node number plant^-1; In ND length (cm): Internodes length;  BD (cm): Basal diameter; LA (cm²): Leaf area; PL (cm): Petiole length; BT (cm) 90 DAS: Bark thickness 90 DAS; BT (cm) 120 DAS: Bark thickness 120 DAS; GW (g) Plant^-1: Green weight plant^-1; DSW Plant^-1: Dry stick weight plant^-1, Ch (mg/g) ‘a’: Chlorophyll ‘a’; Ch (mg/g) ‘b’:  Chlorophyll ‘b’;  Tch (mg/g): Total chlorophyll; DFW (g) Plant^-1: Dry fibre weight plant^-1

Conclusion

The investigation possess numerous heritable traits with a large variety of variations can be found in the inquiry. These traits are anticipated to respond favorably to selection and can be used further for crop development efforts. At both the phenotypic and genotypic levels, the most positive significant connection was discovered between fibre-weight plant-1 and green-weight plant-1. On the amount of dry fibre produced by each plant, there were positive direct impacts of plant height, internode length, basal diameter, petiole length, and bark thickness after 90 DAS, bark thickness after 120 DAS, chlorophyll ‘b’, and total chlorophyll. The population improvement method may be suggested as a breeding strategy to increase fibre yield because these traits, along with green weight plant-1, should be thought of as important criteria to improve field yield. Since these traits are primarily influenced by additive and non-additive gene action.

Acknowledgement

We are highly grateful to ICAR- Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibers, Barrack pore, Kolkata and AICRP project on Jute and Allied Fibers, Kalyani research center to provide funds for the conduct of research trail and also to department of plant breeding, BCKV, Mohanpur, West Bengal, India for providing every facilities to field and laboratory experiments.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflict of Interest.

Funding Sources

The conducted research work was funded by the department of Plant Breeding, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India.  

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