The present study was conducted to assess genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for yield and its contributing traits among twenty finger millet genotypes during the Kharif 2023 season at the Centre for Advanced Agricultural Sciences and Technology for Climate Smart Agriculture and Water Management (CAAST-CSAWM), MPKV, Rahuri. The material consisted of fourteen test entries and six released checks evaluated in a randomized block design with three replications. Observations were recorded on major agronomic traits such as plant height, number of productive tillers, earhead length, number of fingers per earhead, finger length, finger width, peduncle length, flag leaf dimensions, 1000-seed weight and grain yield per plant. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, and estimates of genotypic and phenotypic variances, coefficients of variation, heritability and genetic advance were calculated to understand the scope for effective selection.
Analysis of variance indicated significant differences among genotypes for all studied traits, confirming the presence of substantial genetic variability. Highly significant variation at the 1% level was recorded for plant height, earhead length, number of fingers per earhead, finger length, tiller number, flag leaf length and peduncle length, revealing strong genetic control. Traits such as finger width, flag leaf width, 1000-seed weight and grain yield were significant at the 5% level, indicating moderate genetic influence. Very high heritability (90-99%) coupled with high genetic advance (30-63% of mean) for finger length, finger width, earhead length and flag leaf length suggested predominance of additive gene action and indicated that these traits are ideal for direct selection. Moderate heritability (61-77%) with moderate genetic advance for plant height, productive tillers, 1000-seed weight and grain yield suggested environmental influence and the necessity of indirect or recurrent selection strategies. The narrow gap between genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation for most traits further indicated stable trait expression.
The study identified finger length, finger width, earhead length and flag leaf length as dependable selection criteria for improving finger millet productivity under Kharif conditions. Traits with moderate heritability such as productive tillers and grain yield may be improved more efficiently through component-trait-based breeding. Overall, the findings provide useful guidance for identifying genetically superior genotypes and support the development of improved finger millet varieties suited to rainy-season cultivation.
