Correlation of Morphological and Biochemical Traits with Seed Yield in Ty – Gene Tomato Genotypes

Uppuluri Tejaswini^1* , Parashivamurthy¹ , R. Siddaraju¹ , K. Vishwanath¹ , T. M. Ramanappa² , K. N. Srinivasappa³ , N. Nagaraju⁴

¹Department of Seed Science and Technology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, India

²Genetics and Plant Breeding, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, India

³Department of Horticulture, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, India

⁴4Plant Pathology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore, India

Corresponding Author Email: tejaswini.uppulurichanti@gmail.com

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7894510

Abstract

Keywords

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Introduction

Tomato is one of the most important vegetablesproduced and exported in the world. It is a warm season and self-pollinated vegetable crop grown both for fresh and food processing markets [10]. The nutrient status of tomatoes is higher with the contents like vitamin A, B, C, Calcium, and Carotene, and rich in medicinal value.  [2] revealed that tomato has a significant role in nutrition as it is a rich source of lycopene, minerals, and ß-carotene which has anti-oxidants to promote good health. It is anti-cancerous in nature due to lycopene, which helps to counteract the harmful effects of free radicals, which contribute to age-related processes [8].

In the 20^th century, the increase in the use of tomatoes for culinary and industrialpurposeswas marked by the private seed industries have developed the principle of the F₁ hybrid. Among all diseases of tomato, the tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV) is the most destructive viral disease and causesyield loss between 85 – 100 percent. ToLCV is transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci [4].  The Ty-3gene provides wide resistance to ToLCV and itis mostly preferred in the breeding program because of many undesirable morphological traits that are related tothe Ty-3gene. There is no effective chemical treatment to control viral diseases that results in severe damage for ToLCV. Therefore, the use of resistant varieties is the best and most environment-friendly method for pathogen management [9].

Adapting the potentiality of the crop, there is a need for improvement to develop varieties suited to specific agro ecological conditions and also for specific end-use. Thorough knowledge regarding the amount of genetic variability existing for various characters is essential for initiating the crop improvement program. The study of the correlation between different characters is essential for improving the efficiency of selection [11].

To increase the yield potential of the crop, maximum utilization of desirable traits for developing any genotype is necessary. The seed yield is important fromthe commercial point of view and is the main objective of a breeder. The relationship between various morphological characters that have a direct and indirect effect on seed yield. The relationship between theassociation of the characters with morphological traits, biochemical attributes, and seed quality can be ascertained by correlation studies [6] and [7].

Material and Methods

The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications to assess the performance of 30 genotypes of tomato. Seedlings were transplanted in the experimental field during Kharif2021 with a spacing of 60 × 45 cm. All recommended cultural practices were followed to maintain good crop stand and growth of the plant. Observations were recorded on five randomly selected plants from each genotype in each replication and the mean was taken. The observations were recorded on characters viz., seed yield per plant, plant height, days to 50 % flowering, length of calyx, number of petals,fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight, chlorophyll in leaves, length of internode, number of locules, the thickness of pericarp, number of fruits per cluster, size of locules, test weight,number of fruits per plant, fruit firmness, chlorophyllA and B from fruit.   

Table 1: List of Genotypes used in the study

Genotype	Gene present	Genotype	Gene present
NBLTM-1	Ty-3	NBLTM-16	Ty-3
NBLTM-2	Ty-3	NBLTM-17	Ty-3
NBLTM-3	Ty-3	NBLTM-18	Ty-3
NBLTM-4	Ty-3	NBLTM-19	Ty-3
NBLTM-5	Ty-3	NBLTM-20	Ty-3
NBLTM-6	Ty-6	NBLTM-21	No genes
NBLTM-7	Ty-3	NBLTM-22	No genes
NBLTM-8	Ty-3	NBLTM-23	No genes
NBLTM-9	Ty-3	NBLTM-24	Ty-6
NBLTM-10	Ty-3	NBLTM-25	No genes
NBLTM-11	Ty-3	NBLTM-26	Ty-2 and Ty-3
NBLTM-12	Ty-2 and Ty-3	NBLTM-27	Ty-2 and Ty-6
NBLTM-13	No genes	NBLTM-28	Ty-2
NBLTM-14	Ty-2 and Ty-3	NBLTM-29	Ty-2, Ty-3 and Ty-5
NBLTM-15	Ty-6	NBLTM-30	Arka Vikas

Statistical analysis

The correlation significance was tested against r values as described by [3] at (n − 2) degrees of freedom, where n is the number of genotypes.

Results

Correlations between characters could be due to the linkage of genes. So, the selection made for one trait influenced by the other linked gene affected the traits. The fruit yield or economic yield in most of the crops is referred to as a super character, which is resulted from multiple interactions of several other component characters that are termed yield components. Thus, the identification of important yield components and information about their interrelationship with each other will be very useful for developing an efficient breeding strategy [6] and [10].

In this respect, the correlation coefficient, provides a symmetrical measurement of the degree of association between two variables or characters to help in understanding the nature and magnitude of association among yield and yield components.

In the present study, the correlation coefficient between different characters was correlated between nineteen characters and was worked out in all possible combinations (Table 2). The most important parameterseed yield per plant showed a positive significant association with the number of petals (0.4217), length of internode (0.4767), number of clusters per plant (0.6146), and number of fruits per plant (0.5557). The association of days to 50 % flowering is significant with the fruit width (0.4531), chlorophyll content in leaves (0.4105), and chlorophyll A and B content in fruit (0.5806 and 0.5861 respectively). The association of the length of the calyx with the thickness of the pericarp (0.3798) is positive and significant.  The trait number of petals showed a positive significance association with the length of internode (0.4184), number of fruits per cluster (0.5479), and number of fruits per plant (0.6555). The association of the length of the internode with the number of fruits per cluster (0.4261) is also positive and significant. The trait, number of fruits per cluster showed a positive significantassociation with thenumber of fruits per plant (0.8707). There is a significant positive association between fruit length and the thickness of the pericarp (0.4174). The fruit width has a positive significant association with the number of locules (0.6152), the thickness of the pericarp (0.5150), and chlorophyll A and B content in fruit (0.4481 and 0.4769 respectively). The trait thickness of pericarp has a positive significant relationship with the chlorophyll A and B content (0.4417 and 0.4247 respectively) and the trait chlorophyll A in fruit has a positive significant association with the chlorophyll B in fruit (0.8081).

The correlation of seed yield parameters as influenced by biochemical parameters at 30 DAT during Kharif– 2021 are depicted in Table3.The trait seed yield is significant and positively associated with the phenylalanine lyase (0.4165). The peroxidase content in leaves is positively associated and significant with the polyphenol oxidase (0.4097) and polyphenol oxidase is positively associated and found significant with the total soluble solids (0.4482). The correlation of seed yield parameters as influenced by biochemical parameters at 60 DAT during Kharif2021 isdepicted in Table4.

The correlation of seed yield parameters as influenced by biochemical parameters at 30 DAT during rabi 2021 isdepicted in Table5. The trait phenol content is significant and positively associated with the chlorophyll content in leaves (0.6142) and the chlorophyll content is positively associated and found significant with the carotenoids (0.4483). The correlation of seed yield parameters as influenced by biochemical parameters at 60 DAT during rabi, 2021 isdepicted in Table6.The percent disease index is significant and positively associated with the superoxide dismutase in leaves (0.4934) and phenols (0.5477). The phenols are positively correlated and found significant with chlorophyll content in leaves (0.5135).

Discussion

The morphological traits differed among genotypes and the biochemical components like TSS, and chlorophyll content varied and differed significantly. All the characters are specific to the genotype and most of the genotypes have similar characters. So, there is a positive and few negative correlations associated with the traits.These results are in agreement with the findings of [10], [11] and [13].

The biochemical attributes are correlated with the seed yield traits and percent disease index. Few traits are positively and negatively associated with each other but are non-significant.If the traits are interrelated among them, an association occurs between the traits. The interrelation of biochemical traits is not found. As the disease severity is less, the defense mechanism was not initiated among genotypes and this shows that higher biochemical activity was not altered in genotypes with comparatively better resistance to disease.If the traits are interrelated among them, the association between the traits occurs. The interrelation of biochemical traits is found for a few traits. As the disease severity is less, the defense mechanism was not initiated among genotypes and this shows that higher biochemical activity was not altered in genotypes with comparatively better resistance to disease. Thesefindings were found on par with [1]and [5].

Conclusion

The correlation of seed yield with morphological traits is associated withfew traits.Here, few are positively and few are negatively correlated with the seed yield. The genotypes have similarities and are not much differentby traits. The lower biochemical activity might be due to leaf tissue is not infected in the genotypes and non-initiation of the defence mechanism cycle among genotypes. Tomato genotypes with Ty- the gene is showing higher resistance among genotypes for the tomato leaf curl virus. These results are potentially be used to identify potential breeding material and to plan the effective breeding strategies for the development of resistant tomato hybrids.

Author Contributions

Uppuluri Tejaswini and Parashivamurthy are collaborating with Noble Seeds Pvt. Ltd., Yelhanka, Bangaloreframed and designed the project. Parashivamurthysupervised the whole experiment. Uppuluri Tejaswini is performed the experiments, analyzed the data, andwrotethe research paper. Parashivamurthyis corrected the final draft.

R Siddaraju, Ramanappa T M, K N Srinivasappa, Vishwanath Koti and Nagaraju N helped in framing the experiment, and supervised, read, and approved the final manuscript.

Acknowledgment

Uppuluri Tejaswini is thankful to the supervisor for reviewing the careful reading of the manuscript and also providing insightful suggestions. I would like to thank Noble Seeds Pvt. Ltd. for suggestions and she would also thank all the other authors for their continued support to conduct the experiment. And would like to thank Dr. Prasanna Kumar for his allowance to his lab for using the multispectrophotometer to get absorbance values.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
1	1
2	0.0915	1
3	0.0477	-0.4183	1
4	-0.1088	0.2479	-0.1064	1
5	0.4216	0.3384	-0.2602	0.0931	1
6	0.4767**	0.0770	0.0585	-0.0592	0.4184*	1
7	0.6145**	0.2951	-0.2655	-0.0803	0.5479**	0.3041	1
8	-0.3174	-0.0005	-0.0247	0.0150	0.1826	0.1774	-0.0619	1
9	0.1806	0.0654	0.4531*	-0.0831	-0.0750	0.1226	-0.0170	-0.1524	1
10	0.2920	0.1130	0.3318	-0.1147	-0.1526	0.1195	0.0476	-0.5654	0.6152**	1
11	-0.2663	0.0449	0.1547	-0.0066	-0.1406	-0.2868	-0.4019	-0.0811	0.2758	0.2820	1
12	0.5557**	0.2633	-0.4230	-0.0180	0.6555**	0.4270	0.8707**	0.0275	-0.2402	-0.1299	-0.3819	1
13	-0.1790	-0.0222	0.2780	0.1224	0.0370	0.0623	-0.1696	0.1972	0.2108	0.0043	-0.0409	-0.1271	1
14	-0.0045	0.0808	0.2248	0.3798*	0.0554	0.1337	-0.1229	0.4174*	0.5150**	-0.0377	0.2265	-0.1650	0.1737	1
15	-0.2546	0.1671	-0.2266	-0.0521	-0.0013	-0.3343	0.1327	0.1135	0.1300	-0.1098	-0.0782	0.0225	0.1308	0.1432	1
16	-0.1827	-0.1118	-0.2005	0.0764	-0.0386	0.2410	-0.1515	0.3584	-0.2007	-0.1749	-0.2680	-0.0311	-0.1391	0.0602	0.1289	1
17	0.1994	-0.2615	0.4104	-0.0536	0.0218	-0.1529	0.1477	-0.2348	0.2009	0.1079	0.1116	0.0322	0.0843	0.0297	-0.1718	-0.2688	1
18	0.1785	-0.2701	0.5806**	0.0423	-0.2065	0.0442	-0.0880	-0.0001	0.4481**	0.1975	0.0954	-0.2187	0.2463	0.4417**	-0.0501	-0.1673	0.1174	1
19	0.1743	-0.2696	0.5861**	-0.0973	-0.0892	0.2423	0.0021	0.0043	0.4769**	0.2659	0.0211	-0.0686	0.1390	0.4247**	0.0764	-0.0817	0.0549	0.8081**	1

Table 2: Correlation of seed yield with the morphological traits in tomato genotypes

Note :r table for 28 df at 0.05 P=0.361

  r table for 28 df at 0.01 P=0.463

1.  Seed yield/plant	5.  No. of petals	9.    Fruit width	13.  Fruit weight	17.  Chlorophyll in leaves
2.  Plant height	6.  Length of internode	10.  No. of locules	14.  Thickness of pericarp	18.  Chlorophyll A in fruit
3.  Days to 50 % flowering	7.  Number of fruits per cluster	11.  Size of locules	15.   Test weight	19.   Chlorophyll B in fruit
4.  Length of calyx	8.  Fruit length	12.  No. of fruits per plant	16.   Fruit firmness

Table 3: Correlation of biochemical traits with the seed yield at 30 DAT during kharif, 2021 in tomato genotypes

	Seed yield	PDI	Peroxidase	PPO	PAL	CAT	SOD	Phenols	Chlorophyll	Carotenoids	Lycopene	TSS
Seed yield	1
PDI	0.2359	1
Peroxidase	-0.0188	0.1394	1
PPO	0.0916	0.2133	0.4097*	1
PAL	0.4165*	-0.2876	0.0166	0.2301	1
CAT	-0.3707	-0.2141	0.1009	-0.0853	-0.3061	1
SOD	-0.1168	-0.1038	-0.0722	-0.2551	-0.1165	0.2926	1
Phenols	0.0802	-0.0217	0.1751	-0.1248	-0.1356	-0.1159	-0.0705	1
Chlorophyll	0.2884	0.0895	0.0092	-0.0462	-0.0374	-0.1666	-0.1135	0.3123	1
Carotenoids	0.0877	-0.0506	-0.1714	-0.0004	-0.2917	0.0955	0.0722	0.1901	-0.0209	1
Lycopene	-0.1969	-0.0759	-0.0332	-0.1311	-0.1511	0.2564	0.0166	-0.2133	-0.2293	-0.0083	1
TSS	0.0391	0.0584	0.1903	0.4482*	0.2066	-0.2399	-0.0054	-0.0751	-0.3192	-0.0574	-0.2379	1

Note: r table for 28 df at 0.05 P=0.361

r table for 28 df at 0.01 P=0.463

PDI- Per cent disease index, PPO- Poly phenol oxidase, CAT- Catalase, SOD- Super oxide dismutase and TSS- Total soluble solids

Table 4: Correlation of biochemical traits with the seed yield at 60 DAT during kharif, 2021 in tomato genotypes

	Seed yield	PDI	Peroxidase	PPO	PAL	CAT	SOD	Phenols	Chlorophyll	Carotenoids	Lycopene	TSS
Seed yield	1
PDI	0.2360	1
Peroxidase	0.0657	-0.0792	1
PPO	-0.0780	0.0502	-0.3940	1
PAL	-0.1277	0.0539	-0.0061	0.0242	1
CAT	0.1690	0.3192	0.0568	-0.2667	0.1272	1
SOD	0.3402	0.4934	0.2378	-0.0341	0.0222	0.1409	1
Phenols	0.0954	0.5477	0.2041	0.2361	0.0609	-0.1030	0.6517	1
Chlorophyll	0.2884	0.0895	0.0772	0.3519	-0.0401	-0.0921	0.2524	0.5135	1
Carotenoids	0.0877	-0.0506	0.2990	-0.2538	-0.0548	0.2477	-0.1302	-0.1060	-0.0209	1
Lycopene	-0.1961	-0.0759	0.2962	-0.1853	0.0399	0.2639	-0.0526	-0.0793	-0.2293	-0.0083	1
TSS	0.0391	0.0584	-0.1591	-0.2858	0.0549	0.0062	0.1303	-0.3062	-0.3192	-0.0574	-0.2379	1

Note: r table for 28 df at 0.05 P=0.361

r table for 28 df at 0.01 P=0.463

PDI- Per cent disease index, PPO- Poly phenol oxidase, CAT- Catalase, SOD- Super oxide dismutase and TSS- Total soluble solids

Table 5: Correlation of biochemical traits with the seed yield at 30 DAT during rabi, 2021 in tomato genotypes

	Seed yield	PDI	Peroxidase	PPO	PAL	CAT	SOD	Phenols	Chlorophyll	Carotenoids	Lycopene	TSS
Seed yield	1
PDI	0.0855	1
Peroxidase	0.1282	-0.1831	1
PPO	-0.1427	-0.3322	-0.1767	1
PAL	0.2509	-0.3060	0.2460	0.2034	1
CAT	-0.1318	-0.1007	0.2262	-0.0228	-0.2815	1
SOD	-0.2602	-0.3036	0.1814	-0.0701	0.1617	-0.2777	1
Phenols	0.0928	0.5477	-0.0148	-0.3920	-0.0466	0.0991	-0.1717	1
Chlorophyll	-0.0114	0.2796	0.0655	-0.1867	0.0908	0.0903	-0.1671	0.6142**	1
Carotenoids	0.1134	0.0705	-0.0668	0.1146	0.2622	-0.0016	-0.2472	0.2240	0.4483*	1
Lycopene	-0.1415	-0.0710	-0.2374	-0.1417	-0.3851	-0.2323	0.2173	-0.0855	-0.1767	-0.0518	1
TSS	-0.1224	0.0704	-0.0178	0.0144	0.0887	-0.0202	-0.1483	-0.2764	-0.1454	0.0413	-0.2191	1

Note: r table for 28 df at 0.05 P=0.361

r table for 28 df at 0.01 P=0.463

PDI- Per cent disease index, PPO- Poly phenol oxidase, CAT- Catalase, SOD- Super oxide dismutase and TSS- Total soluble solids

Table 6 : Correlation of biochemical traits with the seed yield at 60 DAT during rabi, 2021 in tomato genotypes

	Seed yield	PDI	Peroxidase	PPO	PAL	CAT	SOD	Phenols	Chlorophyll	Carotenoids	Lycopene	TSS
Seed yield	1
PDI	0.2359	1
Peroxidase	0.0657	-0.0792	1
PPO	-0.0780	0.0502	-0.3940	1
PAL	-0.1277	0.0539	-0.0061	0.0242	1
CAT	0.1690	0.3192	0.0568	-0.2667	0.1272	1
SOD	0.3402	0.4934**	0.2378	-0.0341	0.0222	0.1409	1
Phenols	0.0954	0.5477**	0.2041	0.2359	0.0609	-0.1030	0.6518**	1
Chlorophyll	0.2884	0.0895	0.0771	0.3519	-0.0401	-0.0921	0.2524	0.5135**	1
Carotenoids	0.0877	-0.0506	0.2990	-0.2538	-0.0548	0.2476	-0.1302	-0.1060	-0.0209	1
Lycopene	-0.1970	-0.0759	0.2962	-0.1853	0.0399	0.2639	-0.0526	-0.0793	-0.2293	-0.0083	1
TSS	0.0391	0.0584	-0.1591	-0.2858	0.0549	0.0062	0.1303	-0.3062	-0.3192	-0.0574	-0.2379	1

Note: r table for 28 df at 0.05 P=0.361

r table for 28 df at 0.01 P=0.463

PDI- Per cent disease index, PPO- Poly phenol oxidase, CAT- Catalase, SOD- Super oxide dismutase and TSS- Total soluble solids

Data availability

Given in Supplementary material for reference.

Key message

The experiment conducted on the correlation of yield components and biochemical traits gives the significance level and the relation between the components either positively or negatively correlated. The defense mechanism in relation to the yield is provided in the paper.

Conflict of interest

All the authors agreed on the manuscript and there is a compatibility between the members.

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