Genetic variability and character association in pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.] core collection

An experiment was conducted in fifty seven pigeonpea  genotypes to study the variability, correlation and path coefficient in pigeonpea at Department of Pulses, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore during kharif, 2015. The highest GCV was recorded for number of secondary branches/plant (111.73) followed by number of pods/plant (40.73). Heritability in broad sense ranged from 94.66 (pod size) to 99.93 (number of pods per plant). High genetic advance were observed for number of secondary branches/plant (230.00), number of pods per plant (83.88), single plant yield (80.89) and number of racemes (60.41) indicating the prevalence of additive gene action for inheritance of these traits. Character association studies indicated that number of racemes, number of secondary branches, number of primary branches per plant, clusters per plant, pods per plant, pod length, seeds per pod, and 100 seed weight were strongly associated with seed yield. Path coefficient analysis revealed that days to 50 per cent flowering and number of pods per plant had high positive direct effect on seed yield. Pod size had moderate direct effect on seed yield. Hence due emphasis should be given on number of pods per plant for improvement of seed yield in pigeonpea.