Characterization and genetic diversity analysis in field bean [Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet] collections of Karnataka

Forty three pendal and seventy one non-pendal genotypes were collected from different parts of Karnataka. The pendal and non-pendal genotypes were evaluated separately in two different experiments following randomized complete block design at Dharwad during kharif 2007–08. In order to characterize and differentiate the genotypes, observations on 20 quantitative and 26 qualitative characters at different growth stages of the plants were recorded. The analysis of variance suggested significant variation for all the characters in both pendal and non-pendal genotypes. GCV was the highest for number of green pods/plant and green pod yield/plant in both the types. High variation was observed for leaf, inflorescence, flower, pod and seed characters among pendal and non-pendal genotypes. D² statistic grouped the non-pendal genotypes into 13 distinct clusters, indicating ample diversity among the genotypes. The 43 pendal type genotypes were grouped into six clusters and had high range of inter-cluster distance compared to non-pendal types, suggesting greater diversity among the genotypes. However, genetic diversity was not related to geographical diversity in both pendal and non-pendal types. Diverse genotypes in both pendal (DDGC 18, DDGC 35, GL 509, GL 502 and DDGC 32) and non-pendal (GL 63, GL 77, GL 56, GL 70 and GL 37) types were identified for hybridization to generate high variability. Wide variability for all the qualitative traits (such as growth habit, branch orientation, stem pigmentation, and the like) was observed in both pendal and non-pendal types.