Legume Research

  • Chief EditorJ. S. Sandhu

  • Print ISSN 0250-5371

  • Online ISSN 0976-0571

  • NAAS Rating 6.80

  • SJR 0.391

  • Impact Factor 0.8 (2024)

Frequency :
Monthly (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December)
Indexing Services :
BIOSIS Preview, ISI Citation Index, Biological Abstracts, Elsevier (Scopus and Embase), AGRICOLA, Google Scholar, CrossRef, CAB Abstracting Journals, Chemical Abstracts, Indian Science Abstracts, EBSCO Indexing Services, Index Copernicus
Legume Research, volume 44 issue 3 (march 2021) : 281-286

Estimates of genetic variability, divergence, correlation and path coefficient for morphological traits in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) genotypes

R.S. Meena1,*, Sharda Choudhary1, A.K. Verma1, N.K. Meena1, Suresh Chand Mali1
1ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices, Tabiji, Ajmer-305 206, Rajasthan, India.
  • Submitted15-10-2018|

  • Accepted14-03-2019|

  • First Online 30-04-2019|

  • doi 10.18805/LR-4090

Cite article:- Meena R.S., Choudhary Sharda, Verma A.K., Meena N.K., Mali Chand Suresh (2019). Estimates of genetic variability, divergence, correlation and path coefficient for morphological traits in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) genotypes . Legume Research. 44(3): 281-286. doi: 10.18805/LR-4090.
Seventeen genotypes of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) were evaluated at ICAR-NRCSS, Ajmer (Rajasthan) during rabi 2014-15 and 2015-16. The highest GCV and PCV were observed for seed yield per plot followed by test weight and 5 plants seed yield. The highest genetic advance was observed for seed yield per plot followed by 5 plants seed yield and plant height. The highest heritability was estimated for 5 plants seed yield followed by plant height and number of primary branches. The genotypes were grouped into six clusters. Inter cluster distance was maximum between clusters IV and VI followed by III and VI while minimum between clusters II and IV. Whereas, the intra-cluster distance was maximum for Cluster-I. Among the eight characters studied for genetic divergence, 5 plants’ seed yield contributed the maximum accounting for 46.32% of total divergence, followed by number of primary branches (16.9%) and plant height (12.5%). It was concluded that improvement of seed yield in fenugreek can possible through selection for number of pod per plant, number of seeds per pod, plant height and number of primary branches. Molecular studies also supported the same findings.
Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is a seed spices crop, diploid species with chromosome number of 2n=16. The genus Trigonella is one of the largest genera of the tribe Trifoliate in the family Fabaceae and sub-family Papilionaceae (Balodi and Rao, 1991). Studies on variability, character associations for different agronomic characters in fenugreek have been made by Singh and Raghuvanshi, (1984) and Saha and Kale, (2001).  
 
The degree of association among such variables can be determined through correlation analysis. The ultimate expression of yield in crop plants is usually dependent upon the action and interaction of a number of important characters (Elias, 1992). Genotypic correlation coefficients provide a measure of genetic association between traits in order to identify the important traits (Pandey and Gritton, 1975). Phenotypic correlations do not always indicate genetic causation but may in fact be due to the underlying population structure (Kempthorne, 1957). Nonetheless, phenotypic correlations are suitable for describing populations but caution is required if implying causation, particularly beyond the test population (Loomis and Connor, 1992).
The present study was carried out to assess the variability and character association in 17 genotypes of fenugreek. The genotypes under study were grown in RBD with 3 replications at ICAR-NRCSS, Ajmer (Rajasthan) during rabi of 2014-15 and 2015-16. Analysis of variance was done by the method suggested by Panse and Sukhatme (1985). Mean data from each of the replications were used to estimate phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variations as per Burton (1952); heritability (broad sense) and genetic advance were determine by following the methodology of Johnson et al., (1955). The phenotypic and genotypic correlation coefficients were calculated as per the methods given by Al-Jibouri et al., (1958). The path coefficients were obtained by following the method of Dewey and Lu (1959) and data analysis was done with the help of Windostate software. Same germplasm lines were used to identify the genetic diversity among the used germplasm lines and dendrogram (Fig1) was generated using NTSYS-PC 2.02j (Rohlf, 1998) software.
 

Fig 1: Molecular markers based similarity/dissimilarity dendrogram for fenugreek germplasm.

The mean performance of fenugreek genotypes was very high for all characters (Table 1). The analysis of variance was estimated and found significant for all characters except primary branches and secondary branches (Table 2). Plant height, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, test weight, 5 plants seed yield and seed yield per plot had wide variability (Table 3). The difference between the value of PCV and GCV was narrow for number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, and number of seeds per pod. Characters like plant height and 5 plants seed yield were found to be consistent in its behaviour at both phenotypic and genotypic levels. It suggested that these traits were least influenced by the non genetic factors, hence quite stable. This is accordance with finding of Banerjee and Kole (2004) and Naik (2012). The estimates of phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were high for seed yield per plot followed by test weight and 5 plants’ seed yield. Moderate PCV and GCV were observed for number of seeds per pod. The differences between PCV and GCV were maximum with respect to number of pod per plant, number of seeds per pod, test weight and seed yield per plot. These results are in agreement with the earlier findings for number of pods per plant reported by Pant et al., 1984 and Chandra et al., 2000.
 

Table 1: Mean performance of fenugreek genotypes.


 

Table 2: Mean square of investigated characteristics in fenugreek.


 

Table 3: Range, mean, genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance as per cent of mean of various characters in 17 genotypes of fenugreek.


 
Genetic advance
 
The genetic advance is more useful than heritability alone in predicting the resultant effect on selecting best individuals. In the present investigation, expected genetic advance was recorded maximum with seed yield per plot followed by 5 plants seed yield and plant height. This is accordance with finding of Prajapati et al., (2010) and Naik (2012). In the present investigation, expected genetic advance expressed as percentage of mean was high for seed yield per plot followed by test weight, 5 plants seed yield, number of seeds per pod, number of primary branches, plant height and number of secondary branches (Table 3).
 
Genetic divergence
 
The multivariate analysis based on Dvalues among 17genotypes revealed that all genotypes can be grouped into six clusters. Among these, cluster-I consisted of 12 genotypes and remaining all clusters (II, III IV, V, VI) were monogenotypic (Table 4).
 

Table 4: Distribution of 17 fenugreek genotypes in 6 clusters based on D2 values.


 
Cluster I showed maximum intra-cluster distance. Intra-cluster distance is the main criterion for selection of genotypes using D2 analysis. Inter-cluster distance varied from 3.63 to 10.69. Minimum inter-cluster D2 value was observed between clusters II and IV (3.63) indicating the close relationship among the genotypes included in these clusters (Table 5). Maximum inter-cluster value was observed between clusters IV and VI (10.69) indicating maximum divergence between the genotypes of these clusters. The inter-cluster D2 value were also higher between the clusters III and VI (10.56), clusters IV and V (9.34), clusters III and V (9.28) and clusters II and VI (8.38). The contribution of various characters to divergence in fenugreek was recordedand found that 46.3 per cent contribution for five plants seed yield (Table 6) followed by number primary branches (16.9%). The cluster mean value of all characters in fenugreek germplasm shown in Table 7 indicated that all characters found wide variability.
 

Table 5: Inter and intra cluster distance between clusters.


 

Table 6: Contribution of various characters to divergence in fenugreek.


 

Table 7: Cluster mean values for 8 characters in fenugreek germplasm.


 
Genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficient
 
The phenotypic and genotypic correlation among the yield and yield components in fenugreek are presented in Table  8. In the present investigation, 5 plants seed yield was positively and significantly correlated with number of pod per plant, number of seeds per pod and seed yield per plot at both genotypic and phenotypic level. Therefore, these characters should be considered while making selection for yield improvement in fenugreek. These results are in accordance with the results of Ananya and Kole (2004) for biological yield per plant and harvest index. On the other hand, number of pod per plant showed positive and significant correlation with number of seeds per pod and seed yield per plot at both genotypic and phenotypic level (Table 8). Plant height was negatively and non-significantly correlated with number of primary branches, number of secondary branches and test weight. Similar findings have been reported by Singh et al., (2006) and Sarada et al., (2008).
 

Table 8: Genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients among eight characters in fenugreek.


 
Path coefficient analysis
 
Genotypic path analysis of the different characters revealed that seed yield per plot had highest positive direct effect on 5 plants seed yield followed by number of pod per plant, plant height, number of secondary branches and test weight (Table 9). The several studies have shown importance by various scientists reported by Singh et al., (2006) and Fikreselassie et al., (2012).
 

Table 9: Estimate of path coefficient showing direct and indirect effects of different characters on 5 plants’ seed yield at genotypic level in fenugreek.

The highest GCV and PCV were observed for seed yield per plot followed by test weight and 5 plants seed yield that showed these trait not influenced by the environment. The highest genetic advance was observed for seed yield per plot followed by 5 plants seed yield and plant height. The highest heritability was estimated for 5 plants seed yield followed by plant height and number of primary branches this indicated that these characters is high heritable and selection can only made for these traits. The genotypes were grouped into six clusters. These cluster is wide variable each other.It was concluded that improvement of seed yield in fenugreek can possible through selection for number of pod per plant, number of seeds per pod, plant height and number of primary branches.

  1. Al-Jibouri, H.A., Miller, P.A.and Robinson, H.F.(1958). Genotypic and environmental variance and covariance in an upland cotton cross of inter specific origin. Agron. J. 50: 633-636.

  2. Ananya, B.and Kole, P.C.(2004). Genetic variability, correlation and path analysis in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) J. Spices Arom. Crops 13: 44-48.

  3. Balodi, B. and Rao, R.R. (1991).The genus Trigonella L. (Fabaceae) in the Northwest Himalaya. J. Econ. Taxon.5: 11-6.

  4. Banerjee, A. and Kole, P. C. (2004). Analysis of genetic divergence in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops, 13(1): 49-51. 

  5. Burton, G.W.(1952). Quantitative inheritance in grasses. Proceedings, 6th International Grassland Congress 1: 277-285.

  6. Chandra, K., Sastry, E.V.D.and Singh, D.(2000). Genetic variation and character association of grain yield and its component characters in fenugreek. Agric. Sci. Digest 20: 93-95.

  7. Dashora, A., Maloo, S. R. and Dashora, L.K. (2011). Variability, correlation and path coefficient analysis in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) under water limited conditions. Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops, 20: 38-42.

  8. Datta, S. and Chatterjee, R. (2004). Performance of fenugreek genotypes under new alluvial zone of West Bengal. Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops,13:132-134.

  9. Dewey, D.R.and Lu, K.H.(1959). A correlation and path analysis of components of crested wheat grass seed production. Agron. J.51: 515-518.

  10. Elias, U. (1992). Correlation and performance study of groundnut varieties in Ethiopia. MSc. Thesis. Alemaya University of Agriculture, Ethiopia.

  11. Fikreselassie, M., Zeleke, H. and Alemayehu, N. (2012). Correlation and Path Analysis in Ethiopian Fenugreek (Trigonellafoenum-    graecum L.) Landraces.Crown Research in Education, 2:132-142.

  12. Johnson, H.W., Robinson, H.F.and Comstock, R.E.(1955). Estimates of genetic and environmental variability in soybean. Agron. J.47: 314-318.

  13. Kempthorne, O. (1957). An Introduction to Genetic Statistics. John Wiley and Sons, Inc: New York.

  14. Kole, P.C. and Saha, A. (2013). Correlation coefficient of component characters with seed yield and their direct effects in path analysis in fenugreek grown under six environments. Journal of Horticulture and Forestry, 5:17-20.

  15. Kumar, A., Krishna, R.and Chaturvedi, S.K.(1998). Genetic divergence in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Indian J. Genet.58: 337-342.

  16. Loomis, R.S. and Connor, D.J. (1992). Crop Ecology: productivity and management in agricultural systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 420pp.

  17. Meena, S.S., Lal, G., Mehta, R.S., Kant, K. and Anwer, M.M. (2010). Seed spices for home remedies. Indian Horticulture:pp.6-8.

  18. Naik, A. (2012). Characterization fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecumL.) genotypes through morphological characters. Intl. J. Agric. Env. Biotech. 5:453-457.

  19. Pandey, S. and Gritton, E.T. (1973). Genotypic and phenotypic correlation of peas. Crop Science, 15:353-356.

  20. Panse V. G.andSukhatme, P.V. 1985 Statistical Methods for Agricultural Workers. 2nd Edn. Indian Council of Agricultural Re-search, New Delhi.

  21. Pant, K.C., Chandel, K.P.S.and Pant, D.C.(1984). Variability and path coefficient in fenugreek. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 54: 655-658.

  22. Prajapati, D.B., Ravindrababu, Y. and Prajapati, B.H. (2010). Genetic variability and character association in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops, 19: 61-64.

  23. Rohlf F J. (1998). NTSYS-PC Numerical taxonomy and multivariate analysis system. Version 2.02e. EXETER Software, New York. 

  24. Saha, A.and Kale, P.C.(2001). Genetic variability in fenugreek grown in sub-humid lateritic belt of West Bengal. Madras Agric. J.88: 345-348.

  25. Sarada, C., Giridhar and Rao, H. (2008). Studies on genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops,17:163-166.

  26. Singh G & Singh M 1995 Genetic divergence in black gram. Crop Improv.22: 69-72.

  27. Singh, R.R.and Raghuvanshi, S.S.(1984). Correlation and path coefficient analysis in fenugreek. Indian J. Hort. 41: 294-298

  28. Singh, Y., Dutt, S., Sharma, S. and Sharma, A. (2006). Association of characters and their direct and indirect contribution for seed yield in fenugreek. (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.). Journal of ResearchSkuast-J.5:972-978. 

Editorial Board

View all (0)