Study of genetic diversity and variability in desi chickpea (Cicer arietinum) for rainfed rice (Oryza sativa)-chickpea cropping system of Chhattisgarh

Twenty diverse chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes were evaluated for their genetic diversity, genetic variability, yield and yield attributing characters. The genotypes were grouped in four clusters based on D² values. Cluster II exhibited maximum number of pods plant⁻¹ and cluster III exhibited highest seed yield. Days to maturity, number of pods plant⁻¹ and seed yield contributed more towards genetic diversity under rainfed situation. The maximum inter-cluster distance was recorded between clusters I and III. Therefore, the genotypes of these clusters may be involved in multiple crossing programmes. Six superior diverse germplasm lines, viz. ICCV-06106, ICCV-93954, ICCV-06101, ICCV-06107, ICCV-06102 and ICCV-03203 were selected on the basis of genetic divergence and mean performance of yield and yield attributing characters. Results of genetic variability revealed high genotypic coefficient of variation in seeds pod⁻¹. Moreover, secondary branches plant⁻¹, pods plant⁻¹, 100-seed weight and seed yield exhibited medium genotypic coefficient of variation which is evident of sufficient variability for the traits. High heritability was observed for all the characters except primary branches plant⁻¹ and pods plant⁻¹. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percentage of mean was observed for seeds pod⁻¹, 100-seed weight and seed yield indicating the role of additive genetic variance in the expression of these traits under rainfed situation.