Heterosis in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) for yield and yield related traits

Line x Tester analysis using a set of six female lines and four males (testers) was carried out to estimate the extent of heterosis for the selected traits in cowpea during kharif 2015. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for all the characters studied except number of branches per plant. In the present study, the hybrids viz Vellayani Jyothika x PKB-4, Vellayani Jyothika x Sarika, Anaswara x Sarika, Vyjayanthi x PKB4 and Lola x Sarika showed exploitable standard heterosis and heterobeltiosis for grain yield per plant offering possibilities for the selection of transgressive segregants in subsequent generations. Most of the crosses involving V. Jyothika, Lola and Vyjayanthi among lines and PKB-3, PKB-4 and Sarika among testers as one of the parents implies that these parents can serve as the basic material for future breeding programmes.