Genetic variation in a large population of tomato varieties. 1. Analysis of distribution of single traits

The distribution of vegetative and fruit characters among a large population of parent and F1 hybrid tomato cultivars is described and heritability estimates are given. Comparison of parent and offspring subpopulations revealed higher overall values in the F1 hybrids for vegetative characters and lower overall values for fruit characters than in the parents. A general Galtonean feature of higher offspring values for cross combinations with low parent means and lower offspring values for cross combinations with high parent mean is evident in all traits studied. The predictive value of the data given is evaluated.