Environ Exp Biol (2020) 18: 161–168

Diallel analysis of seven promising genotypes of opium poppy for assessment of their combining ability and efficacy in future genetic improvement programmes

Abstract

Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) is a widely cultivated plant species, producing a number of pharmaceutically important alkaloids and highly nutritive seeds. In the present investigation, combining ability analysis and reciprocal effect were studied in a 7 × 7 diallel set of opium poppy. Analysis of variance revealed the presence of significant variance due to general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and reciprocal effect among the parents for all the traits except for codeine content. Combining ability analysis revealed the involvement of both additive and non-additive gene action in the inheritance of most of the traits. On the basis of GCA, SCA effects and per se performance, genotype SPS-20, Sanchita and Ajay were identified as the most eligible parents for future hybridization programmes for better seed yield, development of morphine-less cultivars and quantitative improvement of different types of alkaloid in poppy straw, respectively.