Morphological variation and evaluation of lupin (Lupinus hartwegii L.) germplasm

A field experiment was conducted to find out vartiation in various lupin (Lupinus hartwegii L.) germplasm collected from different parts of the country and evaluation of these germplasm for various horticulturally important traits. Seeds of 34 germplasm were sown and transplanted at Model Floriculture Centre of the University during 2005–2006 for this study. Experiment was laid out in randomized block design with three replications. Significant variation were obserued among lupin germplasm for all growth, flowering and seed attributes. Germplasm LHS 25 registered maximum leaf area, leaf width and petiole length, wide variation on plant height (24.83 cm to 95.53cm), plant spread (32.16 cm to 110.06 cm) and stem diameter (0.62 to 2.28 cm) was recorded. Days taken to spike emergence and bud opening also influenced greatly. According to days taken to bud opening, all genotypes were grouped into 3 main categories viz., early (<60 day) 4 germplasm, mid (60–90 day) 17 germplasm and late (>90 day) 13 germplasm. Rachis length varied from 7.52 cm (LHG 23) to 51.93 cm (LHG 34). Similarly, spike longevity in the field varied from 8.00 (LHG 22) to 26.00 day (LHG 25). Wide variation in flower colour was observed in different genotypes. Along with pure white and violet purple colour flower of two or three colour shades were also observed. Two genotypes (LHG 25 and LHG 26) exhibited double shades of red purple and yellow colour.