Early Generation Selection in Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

Effectiveness of early generation selection in self pollinated crops like cowpea rely on prevalence of additive gene action which can be estimated through the measures of heritability, genetic advance, skewness and kurtosis. Considering these estimates, multi-trait selection was adopted in the F₂ generation of C-152 X IC 68786. Traits used for multi-trait selection were grain yield per plant, number of pods per plant and test weight. Superior segregants were selected for further evaluation.