| Results and Discussion Correlation and Path coefficient analysis. The path ways through which the four yield components operate to produce their phenotypic associations with grain yield revealed that seeds per spike exerted preponderant effect on yield per plant and formed 83.79% of the total phenotypic correlation followed by spikelets per spike (43.32%). The direct effect of spike length on grain yield was low and negative (-.0726) the indirect effect via seeds per spike was very high and positive (.5366). High positive correlation of spike length with grain yield was mainly due to indirect effect via seeds per spike and spikelets per spike. The direct effect of spikelets per spike on grain yield per plant was positive (.2989). The indirect effect via spike length was very low and negative (-.0559) and seeds per spike was high and positive (.4609). However, the total effect of spikelets per spike on yield per plant was 0.690 which was mainly due to its indirect effect via seeds per spike. Therefore this yield component can be regarded as reliable selection criterion of the second order. The phonotypic correlation coefficient (.821) of seeds per spike with grain yield per plant was mainly due to its direct effect. However, indirect effect via spike length (-.0567) and yield per spike (-.1172) hav some what diluted the direct effect. Hence seeds per spike can be used as most reliable criterion in the selection of high yielding genotypes. The direct effect of yield per spike on grain yield per plant was very low and negative (-.0192). The indirect effect via spike length and spikelets per spike was -.0450 and .2266 respectively, via seeds per spike it was high (.4196). The total correlation coefficient .620 between grain yield per plant and yield per spike was mainly due to indirect effect via seeds per spike. Therefore, yield per spike can not be used as a reliable criterion in the selection of high yielding wheat genotypes. These results are in agreement with LARIK (1979) and SIDDIQUI et al. (1980). |
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