Heritability of some Characters in Sugarcane* Shah S. S., Rajasekaran S., Venkataraman M. R. Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore-7, India *Approved for publication by the Director, Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore-7, India. Summary 1. Heritability estimates, expected genetic advance and the magnitude of σ2g, σ2gl, and σ2c were studied in two groups of varieties of sugarcane for six agronomic characters. Design followed was replicated clonal planting grown in two locations. The two groups of varieties are North Indian and South Indian group and they represent the cultivated varieties, some of the promising varieties and some of their parents for the respective groups. 2. For most of the characters the “ varietal component “ was significant and the heritability estimates for these characters ranged from 58 to 93 per cent. Substantial genetic advance is also possible for them. The data suggest that the two groups of varieties differed with respect to the amount of genetic variation for percentage and extent of germination. 3. σ2gl is smaller than σ2g and σ2c. For height and leaf breadth σ2g is considerably larger than other two variances. Top |