Performance Evaluation and Path Analysis Studies in Tomato (Solanumlycopersiconl.) Genotpes under Humera, Northern Ethiopia Condition

Abstract

In order to evaluate performance of genotypes and study the direct and indirect effects of characters on fruit yield, thirty six tomato genotypes introduced from different countries were grown at Humera Agricultural Research Center during 2010/11 cropping season under irrigation condition. The trial was laid out in 6 x 6 simple lattice design in two replications. The maximum marketable yield was obtained from the genotype CLN-2037-A (49.20 tons ha-1 ) and the minimum with H-1350 (3.00 tons ha-1 ). Estimates of genotypic direct and indirect effects of various characters on fruit yield showed that number of matured fruits plant-1 (0.798) and average weight of fruits plant-1 (0.644) had highest positive direct contribution to fruit yield. This indicated direct selection based on these characters will improve fruit yield. On the contrary, fruit set percentage (-0.447) and fruit polar diameter (-0.392) exerted highest negative direct effect on fruit yield ha-1 .