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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Early Access

An integrative analysis approach for combining ability, heterosis and SSR-based genetic diversity in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.) for seed yield and quality traits

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.13478
Submitted
31 December 2025
Published
30-03-2026

Abstract

This study integrates a line × tester analysis with SSR marker-based diversity assessment in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern. & Coss.) to identify promising parent combinations for breeding. Ten elite mustard lines and four testers were crossed (line × tester) to produce 40 hybrids, which along with parents were evaluated in a randomized block design with 3 replicates for 15 agro-morphological and quality traits. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed significant genetic variability in both general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects for most traits, indicating the involvement of both additive and non-additive gene actions. Notably, lines such as PR-2019-9 and PR-2019-2 showed high positive GCA for seed yield and key yield components, while certain crosses like PR-2019-2 × Albeli and PR-2017-11 × RB-101 exhibited high SCA for yield. Significant heterosis for seed yields were observed, with better-parent heterosis reaching approximately 68 % and standard heterosis up to 50 %, the highest standard heterosis being recorded in the cross PR-2019-2 × Albeli. Molecular characterisation with 20 polymorphic SSR markers yielded a high polymorphism information content (PIC) up to 0.79. Pairwise Jaccard similarity ranged from 0.45 to 0.85, with the most genetically distant genotypes being PRD-14-13 and PR-2019-9. The UPGMA clustering grouped the 14 genotypes into 3 major clusters, broadly separating the parental lines and identifying distinctly divergent genotypes. Interestingly, line PR-2019-2 and tester Albeli fell into different clusters, reflecting their divergent genetic backgrounds. These findings demonstrate how integrating phenotypic combining ability analysis with molecular diversity assessment can guide the strategic selection of parent lines for developing high-yield mustard hybrids.

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