ABSTRACT:
Knowledge on the variability and heritability of agronomic characters of interest aid the selection of superior materials. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic parameters of agronomic traits in castor bean plant lineages and to quantify the genetic correlations between them. The study was performed in the experimental area of the Federal University of the Recôncavo da Bahia, Cruz das Almas, Bahia. Seed oil content, vegetative cycle, plant height, and the number and weight of seeds per plant were evaluated in 47 lineages of castor bean seedlings. The coefficient of genetic variation was higher for weight of seeds per plant, revealing greater variability. The broad-sense heritability of individual plots presented a higher value for oil content and a lower value for seed number per plant. Selection precision was moderate for plant height, number and weight of seeds per plant, high for vegetative cycle, and very high for oil content. The genetic parameters allowed superior genotypes to be ranked and selected. Positive correlations between vegetative cycle and plant height, associated with negative correlations for number and weight of seeds, and oil content, allow significant gains for crop productivity.
Key words:
castor bean plant; genetic correlation; heritability; genetic improvement