Introduction

• Biometry or biometrics is the science that deals with the application of statistical procedures to the study of biological problems.
• Biometrical genetics or Quantitative genetics is that branch of genetics, which attempts to unravel the inheritance of quantitative traits using statistical concepts and procedure.

Importance of Biometrical techniques in Plant breeding

1. Assessment of genetic variability present in the population. – It can be assesed by Range, variance, standard deviatio n, coefficient of variation, D2 statistics, metro glyph analysis
2. In the selection of elite genotypes from mixed populations – correlation, path and discriminant function analysis)
3. Selection of parents and breeding procedures – diallel , partial diallel, line x tester, generation means, triallel by parental cross and triple test cross analysis
4. Determining varietal adaptation – Stability analysis

Finley and Wilkinson (1963)

Eberhart and Russel (1966)

Perkins and Jinks (1968)

Freeman and Parkins (1971)

5. AMMI – Model – Additive main effects and multiplicative interaction