Assessment of Genetic Variability, Heritability, and Genetic Advance in Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.L) Genotypes, at Kessem and Metahara Sugar Estates, Ethiopia

Abstract

The presences of genetic variation in the germplasm provide a better opportunity for trait enhancement through selection. The study aimed to assess the extent of genetic variability, heritability, and genetic advance for sixteen agro-morphological traits and to identify promising genotypes for future sugarcane breeding programs. A total of 187 sugarcane genotypes were evaluated at Kessem and Metahara Sugar Estates in Ethiopia, using an alpha-lattice design with two replications. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed highly significant variation (p<0.001) among the genotypes for all measured traits, indicating that the genotypes are genetically diverse.The estimates of genetic variability, heritability, and genetic advance indicated the presence of notable genetic diversity in sugarcane genotypes and the extent of selection response for these traits in the population to develop superior genotypes for sugarcane improvement. Several traits had high to moderately high broad-sense heritability (h²ᵦ) and moderate genetic advance as a percent of mean (GAM): number of sprouted buds (h²ᵦ = 63.55; GAM = 19.00), number of tillers (h²ᵦ = 75.80; GAM = 14.55), cane yield (h²ᵦ = 52.66; GAM = 13.04), millable cane count (h²ᵦ = 70.15; GAM = 12.09), internode length (h²ᵦ = 72.73; GAM = 10.86), single cane weight (h²ᵦ = 66.67; GAM = 11.73), and estimable recoverable sugar % (h²ᵦ = 84.51; GAM = 10.11). These results indicate that these traits are influenced by additive gene, and selection based on these traits could effectively achieve the desired genetic improvements. The sugarcane genotypes with the highest sugar yields are B630-5, B58230, B57150, FG06787, FG08533, FG05414, 26-Wonji, C132/81, and B516-60. Thus, these genotypes require additional multi-location and multi-season testing to verify their stability, and suitability for breeding and commercial release at the Metahara and Kessem sugar estates in Ethiopia.

Key words: Agronomy; Heritability; Genotypes; Selection; Sugarcane; Variability