The importance of obtaining genetic diversity in support of plant breeding programme can hardly be overemphasized. Hence, the information on the relative magnitude of genotypic and phenotypic variability and correlation is of immense value in starting a scientific breeding programme. Further, knowledge of relative contribution of characters to yield, directly as well as indirectly, is also important in formulating suitable selection procedure. Early maturity coupled with high number of pods per plant, pod clusters per plant, biological yield per plant and harvest index appeared to be important constituents of an ideal high yielding lentil plant ideotype. The study further revealed that days to 50% flowering, days to 75% maturity, pod clusters per plant, pods per plant, 100-seed weight, biological yield per plant, seeds per plant and harvest index were important for selection. Therefore, for improvement in seed yield per plant in lentil, early selection can be practised effectively on the basis of days to 50% flowering, days to 75% maturity, pod clusters per plant and pods per plant.
Correlation, Genetic diversity, Lentil
