In the present study 56 exotic lines and 3 check varieties of tomato were laid out in augmented block design to investigate the variability present in the genotypes. The analysis of variance indicated the prevalence of sufficient genetic variation among the genotypes for all the quantitative characters studied. High phenotypic coefficient of variation and genotypic coefficient of variation were observed for plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of flowers per cluster, number of fruits per cluster, fruit weight and fruit yield. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance were observed for the characters plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of flowers per cluster, number of fruits per cluster, fruit length and fruit weight and medium heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for the trait fruit yield per plant, indicating that these characters were governed by additive gene action. Hence, direct selection may be followed for improvement of tomato for these characters.
Path coefficient analysis for fruit yield revealed that the characters number of primary branches per plant and number of flowers per cluster had high positive direct effect on fruit yield per plant. Path coefficient analysis for shelf-life had revealed that Total soluble solids (TSS) had high positive direct effect on shelf-life. Hence, direct selection based on the characters number of primary branches per plant and number of flowers per cluster will be rewarding for improving fruit yield per plant. For improving shelf life in these genotypes direct selection based on high TSS will be rewarding.