Genetic variability of pigeonpea germplasm for yield and its components in North Eastern Hill (NEH) Region

Abstract

Pigeonpea, a crucial protein source,that thrives well in varied climatic conditions has huge scope of cultivation in North Eastern Hill (NEH) region of India. The present study examined seven pigeonpea genotypes to assess the components of genetic variation and association of yield and component traits. The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Results showed significant variation (P ≤ 0.001) among the genotypes for yield component traits. Environmental influence was evident, as the phenotypic coefficient of variance (PCV) exceeded the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV). Traits such as the percentage of chaffy pods, plant dry weight, root dry weight, and root volume demonstrated high heritability (60%) coupled with high genetic advance (20%) indicating genetic improvement through selection. Traits like plant height, root volume, plant dry weight, root dry weight, proline content, number of pods plant-1 , aluminum content in root biomass, and test weight exhibited strong positive associations with yield (P≤ 0.05) at both genotypic and phenotypic levels. Further, path analysis revealed positive direct effect of root traits, proline content, test weight, pods per plant on dependent variable yield per plant indicating heritable additive gene action. The study also identified two promising genotypes PA-291 and PA-640 which can be used as parental lines for future breeding programme.