Indian Journal of Ecology

In the present study, 12 morphological and 13 quantitative characters of French bean were recorded from 16 varieties to assess the genetic variability for growth, yield and quality traits. The overall mean value of Shannon-Weaver diversity index was 0.96 which confirmed the existence of diversity among the genotypes. The genotypes 'Arka Sharath', 'NFL-35' and 'Harsha' were most promising in respect to green pod yield per plant and tolerance to bean anthracnose disease. High phenotypic and genotypic co-efficient of variation were recorded for 10 pod weight, 100 seed weight, protein content of green pod, total sugar content of green pod, PDI of bean anthracnose and pod yield per plant. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for pod diameter, number of pods per plant, 10 pod weight, 100 seed weight, number of seeds per pod, protein content, total sugar content of green pod, PDI of bean anthracnose and pod yield per plant indicated that these traits are predominantly governed by additive gene, so early generation selection would be rewarding for improving these traits. Pod diameter, pod length, number of pods per plant and 10 pod weight should be considered as the most important selection indices for enhancing green pod yield in French bean.