Evaluation of lentil germplasm for agro-morphological traits

Evaluation of genetic resources before their utilization as parents in crossing program is essentially required to identify the desirable traits for developing the improved plant type through breeding. In the present investigation, 1525 accessions of lentil were evaluated in augmented design and characterized for seventeen agro-morphological traits. As the germplasm stock represents major collection made from Indian subcontinent, dense pubescence which is a unique character found in Indian ecotypes (pilosae types), was observed in 62% the accessions. PCA showed maximum contribution of pods per plant, days to 50% flowering, plant height and days to maturity to total diversity among the studied accessions. The highest GCV was observed for pods per plant. This trait along with seed yield also showed high heritability coupled with high genetic advance. Correlation analysis showed strong positive correlation of seed yield with seeds per pod, pods per plant and secondary branches. Considerable variability for the traits having positive association with seed yield was explored. The information generated can help in strengthening the ongoing breeding programme in Asia and other parts of the world.