Genetic analysis of seed growth rate and progress towards flowering in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Genetic analysis of seed growth rate (SGR) and progress towards flowering (RPF) along with yield components was carried out in chickpea using Hayman's and Griffing's diallel procedures. Estimates of genetic parameters showed significant additive and non-additive gene effects in the inheritance of the traits studied. The additive component was predominant for RPF, SGR and seed weight, and the non-additive component was predominant for pods per plant, seeds per plant, seeds per pod and seed yield. Estimate of the narrow-sense heritability was high (90%) for RPF, SGR and seed weight, and low for the remaining traits. The close association observed between SGR and seed weight makes it possible to select for higher SGR through selection for larger seed size. SGR and seed weight could be used as selection criteria for yield improvement.