Correlation and Path Coefficient Analysis for Selecting Promising Chickpea Lines in F4 Generation

The Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) is the third most important pulse in the world which grows in over 40 countries and occupies a prominent position in cultivated areas. It is an important crop of rabi season in India. The investigation was conducted with 45 genotypes of Chickpeas comprising 30 elite lines of F4 generation, 12 parental lines, and 3 checks in randomized block design. These genotypes were evaluated for correlation among agronomical yield components and their direct and indirect effects on seed yield. The correlation coefficient analysis revealed that seed yield per plant exhibited a positive and significant correlation with plant height (0.2736, 0.2957), number of branches per plant (0.4912, 0.5492), pods per plant (0.4726, 0.4837), number of seeds per plant (0.4736, 0.4899), 100 seed weight (0.5892, 0.6193) and harvest index (0.4453, 0.4806) at both genotypic and phenotypic level. The traits of biological yield per plant and days to maturity showed a positive but nonsignificant association and days to 50% flowering showed a negative and nonsignificant association with seed yield per plant at both genotypic and phenotypic levels. The path analysis revealed that the high positive direct effect exhibited by branches per plant (0.2782) followed by 100-seed weight (0.2415), harvest index (0.2107), and number of pods per plant (0.1569) on grain yield at both genotypic and phenotypic level. Thus, the study suggests that plant height, number of branches per plant, pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, 100 seed weight, and harvest index are important traits for the selection criteria in the crop improvement program of chickpeas. Moreover, the study underscores the complexity of seed yield as a polygenic trait influenced by the direct and indirect effects of multiple components. The higher genotypic correlations compared to phenotypic correlations indicate the masking influence of the environment on genetic expression.