Genetic variability and character association studies in urdbean (Vigna mungo L. Hepper)

Abstract

The present work titled “Genetic Variability and Character Association in Urdbean (Vigna mungo L. Hepper)” aimed to quantify the genetic variability among various traits and determine how they relate to the crop’s yield potential. Fifty urdbean genotypes were evaluated during the kharif 2023-24 season at the Pulses Research Unit of Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola, using a randomized block design with two replications. Analysis of variance showed highly significant variation among all genotypes for every trait, confirming substantial genetic variability in the material. Evaluating key characters especially seed yield identified GPU-2022-125, GPU-2024-95, GPU-2022-153, GPU-2024-101, GPU-2024-98, GPU-2024-15, GPU-2024-84 and AKU-15 as the most promising genotypes. For every trait, genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) was lower than phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV), but the small gap between them suggests minimal environmental influence. Traits such as plant height, number of seeds per pod, number of pods per plant, number of primary branches per plant and seed yield per plant exhibited high heritability coupled with high genetic advance, indicating predominant additive gene action and significant potential for selection in segregating populations. Correlation analysis demonstrated strong, significant positive genotypic and phenotypic associations for number of primary branches per plant, plant height, number of seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, pod length and number of pods per plant, implying that direct selection on these traits will effectively improve yield. Path coefficient analysis further revealed that number of seeds per pod, number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant, pod length, days to 50% flowering and 100-seed weight all contributed large positive direct effects on seed yield at both genotypic and phenotypic levels.