Heterosis and inheritance studies on morphological and chemical characters of tobacco

Abstract Hybrid breeding provides excellent convenience in obtaining products that meet the demands of producers and the market. This study aimed to develop new hybrid tobacco ( Nicotiana spp.) varieties that meet the demands of tobacco producers and buyers to provide continuity in homogenous products and genetically to determine the effects of parameters investigated. In this study, five parents (OZE S2 [P1], OZE S1 [P2], Katerini [P3], Prilep [P4], and Bozcakaldere [P5]) with different characters and 10 hybrid genotypes obtained from the five parents were tested in five different locations in Aktekke in 2018, and Aktekke, Kelikler, Seyhulas, and Huseyinbeyli in 2019. The morphological and chemical parameters of genotypes were significantly ( p < .05 and p < .01) different from each other. The average leaf width, leaf length, nicotine content, yield, and phenolic contents of the hybrids were higher than those of the parents (respectively hybrids and parents; 17.2–15.3 cm, 29.6–27.1 cm, 0.81–0.72%, 1,982–1,720 kg ha –1 , 9.30–8.26 g kg –1 ). The results can be attributed to the slight influence of environmental factors and the high performance of hybrids. The results showed that especially the effect of leaf width on yield is higher than the leaf length and number of leaves, and the leaf is more important in terms of heredity. In addition, the results revealed that the nicotine ratio could be used as the primary selection criteria and the reducing sugar ratio as the main selection criteria for the next generations. Tobacco yield and quality grade index of P1×P3, P1×P4, and P1×P5 hybrids (respectively 2,030, 2,050, 2,060 kg ha –1 and 56, 52, 55%) were higher compared with the other hybrids.