Plant Archives Vol. 13 No. 1, 2013 pp.

457-461 ISSN 0972-5210

ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC VARIABILITY IN CABBAGE

GERMPLASM FOR YIELD AND IMPORTANT HORTICULTURAL
TRAITS
Dharminder Kumar*, Sandeep Kumar, Prakash Chander2, Manish Kumar, K. S. Thakur,
Balbir Singh Dogra1, Santosh Kumari and Shiv Pratap Singh
Department of Vegetable Science,
Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan - 173 230 (H.P.), India.
1
RHFRS, Bhota, Hamirpur - 176 041 (H.P.), India.
2
IARI, Regional Research Station, Katrain (H.P.), India.

Abstract
Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) is one of the most important and widely grown Cole crops in the world due to
its delicious taste, flavour and nutrition. In India, it is next only to cauliflower with acreage and production. Due to increasing
population pressure and nutritional security, there is an immense need to develop high yielding varieties/hybrids for having
high productivity and quality produce. Improvement in any crop depends on the magnitude of genetic variability and the
extent of transmission of characters. Therefore, fourteen diverse genotypes of cabbage were planted in Randomized Complete
Block Design at the Experimental Farm of the Department of Vegetable Science, Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and
Forestry, Nauni, Solan (H.P.), India during Rabi season of 2011 and were assessed to know the nature and magnitude of
variability for different horticultural traits. The analysis of variance revealed the significant differences among all genotypes
for all the traits under study. Among all the genotypes, AC-16 resulted in maximum net weight of head, yield per plot and per
hectare. Moderate PCV, GCV and high heritability estimates coupled with moderate genetic gain were observed for gross
weight of head, net weight of head, yield per plot and yield per hectare, indicated the better scope for improvement through
selection.
Key words : Variability, heritability, genetic gain, cabbage and Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.

Introduction potassium, phosphorus and antioxidant and is reported to

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) is
one of the most important cole crops grown under
temperate to tropical climate conditions in more than ninety
countries throughout the world (Singh et al., 2010) and
the leading countries are China, India, Russia, Korea,
Japan and the USA. In India, it is next only to cauliflower
with acreage and production. It is said to be native of
Asia Minor (De Candolle, 1883), but rich diversity is also
found in Western Europe. It has been originated from
the cliff cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. sylvestris),
which were growing along the coasts of Mediterranean
Sea.
It is rich source of protein comprising all essential
amino acids, especially sulphur containing amino acids,
minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium,
*Author for correspondence- E-mail: dharmruder@gmail.com
have anti-carcinogenic properties (Singh et al., 2009). It
is also rich source of ascorbic acid, carotene (prov.
Vitamin A) and has high fiber content and calcium which
reduces the risk of colon cancer (Swarup, 2006).
Cabbage is a major off-season crop for mid and high
hills of the Himachal Pradesh and brings lucrative returns
to the farmers. It thrives best in cool, humid climate and
can tolerate severe frosts. Due to increasing population
pressure and nutritional security, there is an immense need
to develop high yielding varieties/hybrids for having
productivity and quality produce. So, there is a great need
of screening cabbage germplasm to select elite genotypes
with improved quality and higher yield for direct selection
or using as a parent in hybridization programme.
Planning and execution of breeding programme for
improvement of quantitative attributes depends, to a great
extent, upon magnitude of genetic variability. The
458 Dharminder Kumar et al.

Table 1 : Analysis of variance for different horticultural traits in cabbage.

Source of variation
S. no. Character
Genotype (13)a Replication (2) Error (26) Total (41)
1. Stump length (cm) 0.93* 0.23 0.11 1.27
2. No. of non wrapper leaves 9.86* 0.65 1.19 11.70
2
3. Plant spread (cm ) 130833.36* 18223.79 9514.76 158571.91
2
4. Leaf size index (cm ) 14031.46* 1808.57 1800.89 17640.93
5. Gross weight of head (g) 177207.55* 1048.17 6892.06 185147.78
6. Net weight of head (g) 129242.84* 817.81 6741.55 136802.21
7. Heading percentage 109.03* 5.02 4.25 118.31
8. Days to marketable maturity 197.47* 4.60 2.31 204.38
9. Core length (cm) 4.83* 0.61 0.24 5.68
10. Yield per plot (kg) 71.06* 0.34 3.39 74.79
11. Yield per hectare (q) 9978.64* 47.83 476.19 10502.66
a
* Significant at 5% level of significance. Values in the parenthesis are degree of freedom.

genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variability are
helpful in exploring the nature of variability in the breeding
population, whereas estimates of heritability provides
index of transmissibility of characters. Hence, on the basis
of these parameters, suitable selection strategy can be
formulated for higher yield in cabbage. Therefore, keeping
in view the importance of above facts in mind, the present
study has been undertaken to estimate the extent of
variability, heritability, coefficients of variation and genetic
advance in fourteen diverse genotypes of cabbage.
Materials and Methods
Experimental site and environment
The present investigations were carried out at
Research Farm of the Department of Vegetable Science,
Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry,
Nauni, Solan in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India
during Rabi season of 2011. This location is at 30050' N
latitude and 77011'30" E longitude and is 1260 m above
mean sea level and represent the mid-hill zone of Himachal
Pradesh. The total rainfall during growing season was
240.09 mm, most of which was received in September
month viz. 74.38 mm. Maximum mean temperature varied
from 20.540 C to 28.350 C and minimum from 0.940 C to
16.390 C. Maximum relative humidity recorded was 74.38
per cent and minimum was 48.52 per cent during the
growing season.
Experimental material, layout and observations
The experimental material consisted of diverse group
of 14 genotypes of cabbage. The experiment was laid
out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with
three replications of each genotype. The experimental
field was disked and levelled. About 20 Mt ha-1 of well
decomposed farm yard manure was mixed in the soil at
the time of field preparation. The recommended fertilizer
dose of N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O was applied at the time of
transplanting at the rate of 500, 675 and 85 kg ha-1 as
calcium ammonium nitrate, single-superphosphate and
muriate of potash, respectively. Seedlings were
transplanted in the field in the month of September, 2011
at a spacing of 60 × 45 cm in a plot having size of 3.0 ×
2.25 m2, accommodating 25 plants per plot. Standard
cultural practices as recommended in the Package of
Practices for Vegetable Crops, were followed to ensure
a healthy crop stand (Anonymous, 2009). The
observations were recorded on stump length (cm),
number of non-wrapper leaves, plant spread (cm2), leaf
size index (cm2), gross weight of head (g), net weight of
head (g), heading percentage, days to marketable maturity,
core length (cm), yield per plot (kg) and yield per hectare
(q) from ten randomly selected plants in each replication
for all characters except heading percentage for which
observations were recorded from entire plot.
Statistical analysis
The data were subjected to analysis of variance as
per procedure described by Gomez and Gomez (1983).
The genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation
were calculated as per formulae given by Burton and
De-Vane (1953). Heritability and genetic advance were
calculated according to Allard (1960) and genetic gain
was estimated as per the method given by Johanson et
al. (1955).
 Assessment of Genetic Variability in Cabbage Germplasm for Yield and Important Horticultural Traits 459

Results and Discussion

Yield per
hectare

158.47
378.28
298.54
318.63
331.37
324.00
339.83
330.29
293.25
324.60
358.15
387.45
355.11
394.70
328.05
12.60
18.82
35.67
Analysis of variance
(q) Genetic variability is the basic
need for a plant breeder to initiate
Yield per

any breeding programme. Genetic

13.37
31.92
25.19
26.89
27.96
27.34
28.68
27.87
24.75
27.39
30.22
32.70
29.97
33.31
27.68

18.76
(kg)

1.06

3.01
plot

improvement can be brought about

by manipulating the genetic
makeup of the plant for desirable
characters or to remove the
length
Core

12.73

15.21
(cm)

7.42
8.97
8.91
8.70
8.88
8.59
9.20
9.86
9.00
8.65
8.70
9.44
7.26
9.02
0.28

0.79
undesirable genes which retard, or
inhibit, certain pathways. Analysis
of variance (table 1) indicated
marketable
maturity

significant differences among the

Days to

108.33
93.33
83.67
75.67
91.67
81.00
87.67
94.67
90.33
95.00
90.67
96.33

92.33
81.00
90.12
0.88
4.78
2.48
genotypes for all the characters
under study. These differences
indicated the presence of variability
in the available germplasm and
100.00 (10.00)
86.67 (9.31)*
percentage

88.00 (9.38)
77.33 (8.79)
89.33 (9.45)
96.00 (9.80)
83.33 (9.13)
89.33 (9.45)
94.67 (9.73)
89.33 (9.45)
97.33 (9.87)
93.33 (9.66)
96.00 (9.80)

89.67 (9.47)
90.74 (9.52)
offers opportunity for improvement
Heading

0.06
3.09
0.17
in yield of cabbage.
Mean performance of
genotypes
Significance differences were
weight of
head (g)

1450.67
1304.00
1205.33
1166.00
1312.00
1283.67
1177.67
1108.67
1126.67
1296.00
1362.33
1198.67
1486.00
1221.02
616.67

134.21
observed among all the genotypes
47.40
19.02
Net

for all the characters under study

(table 2). Among the various
horticultural traits, comparatively
Table 2 : Mean performances of cabbage genotypes for various horticultural traits.

weight of
head (g)

1854.67
1605.33
1506.67
1470.00
1613.33
1585.00
1481.67
1410.00
1428.00
1600.00
1663.67
1500.00
1890.00
1532.74
Gross

850.00

135.70
47.93
15.32

wide range was observed for gross

weight of head (850-1890 g) and
net weight of head (616.67-1486
g), which are the major yield
Leaf size

660.23
699.40
619.13
618.03
673.80
616.50
689.00
871.67
659.23
698.40
618.13
599.23
672.80
622.07
665.55
index
(cm2)

24.50
18.03
69.36

contributing traits. Tremendous

variations with respect to days to
*Figures in the parenthesis are square root transformed values.

marketable maturity (75.67-

108.33), yield per plot (13.37-33.31
spread

159.44
Plant

(cm2)

56.32
13.98
2550
1664
1971
1995
1975
1945
1945
2020
2090
2010
1900
1916
2015
1643
1974

kg) and yield per hectare (158.47-

394.70 q) were also obtained.
Stump length (2.22 cm), number of
non wrapper

non wrapper leaves (7.46), plant

leaves
No. of

14.65

11.08

33.58
7.80
9.53
8.68
8.61
9.21
8.08
9.18

8.84
7.71
8.94
8.86
7.46
9.19
0.63

1.78

spread (1643 cm2) and core length

(7.26 cm) was recorded minimum
in the genotype AC-16. Among all
the genotypes Pusa Ageti was
Stump
length

32.60
(cm)
4.50
2.34
2.57
2.65
2.58
2.48
2.48
2.73
2.97
2.70
2.33
2.39
2.72
2.22
2.69
0.19

0.54

found best for early in maturity

(75.67 days). Leaf size index and
heading percentage was obtained
Pusa Ageti
S.no. Genotypes

highest with AC-83 (871 cm2) and

AC-1020

C.D. (0.05)
SE ± (m)
Invento

Lennox
Sel-204

Ramda
AC-83
AC-29

AC-16

AC-1 (100%), respectively. In

Sel-83

Mean
AC-9

KK-3
AC-1
Sel-8

C.V.

overall gross head weight (1890 g),

net head weight (1486 g), yield per
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

plot (33.31 kg), yield per hectare

460 Dharminder Kumar et al.

(394.70 q) was found maximum in the genotype AC-16,

advance gain (%)

Genetic Genetic

33.83
32.10
18.89
16.47
30.25
31.57
12.66
18.12
26.27
32.95
32.94
which was followed by KK-3 (1663.67 g, 1362.33 g, 32.70
kg and 387.45 q, respectively) and Sel-8 (1854.67 g,
1450.67 g, 31.92 kg and 378.28 q, respectively). Wide
variations with respect to various horticultural characters

372.94
109.61
463.64
385.52

108.06
11.49
16.33
0.91
2.95

2.37
9.12
were also reported by Sharma et al. (2003), Atter et al.
(2009), Meena et al. (2009), Rai and Singh (2010),
Table 3 : Estimates of phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variability, heritability, genetic advance and genetic gain for different traits in cabbage.

Sharma (2010) in cabbage.

Heritability

71.50
70.80
81.00
69.40
89.20
85.80
89.10
96.60
86.60
86.90
86.90
Parameters of variability
(%)

Coefficients of variability
Phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variability
Phenotypic Genotypic Phenotypic Genotypic

depicts that there were significant differences among all

19.45
18.50
10.19

15.55
16.55

13.72
17.16
17.16
9.59

6.51
8.95
variability (%)

the genotypes (table 3). The estimates of phenotypic and

Coefficients of

genotypic coefficients of variability gave a clear picture

of amount of variations presents in the available
germplasm. For all the characters studied, phenotypic
23.00
21.98
11.32
11.52
16.64
17.86

14.75
18.40
18.40
6.90
9.11

coefficients of variability were higher in magnitude than

genotypic coefficients of variability, though difference was
not much in all the cases. Thus, showing that these traits
40439.53

56771.82
40833.76
4076.85

3167.48

are not much influenced by environmental factors. Hence,

34.92
65.05

22.55
0.27
2.88

1.53
σ2)

selection based on phenotypic performance will be more

Variance (σ

reliable. Coefficients of variability varied in magnitude

from character to character (either low or moderate).
49954.29

63663.89
47575.76
5877.75

3643.67
39.18
67.36

25.94

Therefore, it indicated that there was a great diversity in

0.38
4.08

1.76

the experimental material used.

The phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of
variability were found moderate for stump length (23.00
Mean ± SE (m)

56.32
24.50
47.93
47.40

12.60
0.19
0.63

1.19
0.88
0.28
1.06

and 19.45), number of non wrapper leaves (21.98 and

18.50), gross weight of head (16.64 and 15.55), net weight
of head (17.86 and 16.55), yield per plot (18.40 and 17.16)
1532.74
1221.02
665.55

328.05
19.74

90.74
90.12

27.68
2.69
9.19

9.02

and yield per hectare (18.40 and 17.16), respectively.

This reflects greater genetic variability among the
genotypes for these characters for making further
Minimum Maximum

1890.00
1486.00
871.67

100.00
108.33

394.70
14.65
25.50

12.73
33.31
4.50

improvement by selection. Whereas, low phenotypic and

genotypic coefficients of variability were found for plant
Range

spread (11.32 and 11.19), leaf size index (11.52 and 9.59),
heading percentage (6.90 and 6.51), days to marketable
599.23
850.00
616.67

158.47
16.43

83.33
75.67

13.37
2.22
7.46

7.26

maturity (9.11 and 8.95), core length (14.75 and 14.72),

respectively. Similar results had also been reported by
Atter et al. (2009), Meena et al. (2009) and Rai & Singh
Days to marketable maturity
No. of non wrapper leaves

(2010).
Gross weight of head (g)
Net weight of head (g)

Heritability and genetic gain

Heading percentage
Leaf size index (cm )

Yield per hectare (q)

2
Plant spread (cm2)

Yield per plot (kg)

Stump length (m)

The phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation

Core length (cm)

do not offer full scope to estimate the variations that are

S. no. Character

heritable and therefore, estimation of heritability becomes

necessary. Burton and De-Vane (1953) has suggested
that genetic coefficient of variability along with heritability
estimates would give a reliable indication of expected
amount of improvement through selection.
10.
11.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
 Assessment of Genetic Variability in Cabbage Germplasm for Yield and Important Horticultural Traits
The estimates of heritability (broad sense) were found
high for the characters viz. plant spread (81.00), gross
weight of head (89.20), net weight of head (85.80),
heading percentage (89.10), days to marketable maturity
(96.60), core length (86.60), yield per plot (86.90) and
yield per hectare (86.90). In the mean while, stump length
(71.50), number of non wrapper leaves (70.80) and leaf
size index (69.40) resulted in low heritability estimates
(table 3). Atter et al. (2009), Meena et al. (2009) and
Rai & Singh (2010) had also reported similar results in
cabbage. In the light of results obtained in the present
studies, it is concluded that selection can be performed
at phenotypic performance for highly heritable characters
viz. plant spread, gross weight of head, net weight of
head, heading percentage, days to marketable maturity,
core length, yield per plot and yield per hectare.
Genetic gain (expressed as per cent of population
mean) was low to moderate in nature for different
characters. It was found moderate for stump length
(33.83), number of non wrapper leaves (32.10), gross
weight of head (30.25), net weight of head (31.57), yield
per plot (32.95) and yield per hectare (32.94), whereas it
was recorded low for plant spread (18.89), leaf size index
(16.47), heading percentage (12.66), days to marketable
maturity (18.12) and core length (26.27). The results of
present findings are in line with Atter et al. (2009), Meena
et al. (2009) and Rai & Singh (2010).
In nutshell, variability studies concludes that three
genotypes viz. AC-16, KK-3 and Sel-8 resulted in higher
yield and also performed better for most of the
horticultural traits as compared to other genotypes under
study. These genotypes need further testing to be released
as a substitute of already existing cabbage varieties.
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