STUDIES ON THE MORPHO-ANATOMICAL AND REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS OF MULBERRY HYBRID ( Kajli X Victory -1 ).

Mulberry due to its cross pollinated and polygenic nature, plants bound to exhibit genetic plasticity. Crossing between highly lobed poor yielding drought and disease resistant variety kajli with high yielding victory-1 is conducted in tropical condition prevailing in Karnataka. Growth, propagation, anatomical and reproductive parameter were recorded in different genotypes in F1 hybrids. Four genotypes selected from more than 1000 seedlings based on morphological brilliance. Reproductive character of the genotypes varied from FH-1>FH-2>FH-3>FH-4>. FH-1 is found to possess increased leaf yield (84 gms from 25 leaves) followed by other genotypes. Varied sex expressions were observed in different seasons of the year. Morphology of the hybrids exhibited better traits compared to kajli and slightly inferior to victory-1. Anatomical features like stomata size and stomata frequency observed promising inFH-1 and FH-2 compared to FH-3 and FH-4.