Legume Research - An International Journal

The phenotypic expression and heritability of quantitative traits vary due to genotypic differences and environmental influences. Maximum heritability was found in number of pods/plant (99.43%) followed by seed yield/plant (99.06%) and number of primary branches/plant (98.74%). The presence of considerable degree of genotypic variances among tested genotypes under different environments suggests that success in lentil breeding could possibly be achieved through direct phenotypic selection. Seed yield showed highly significant positive correlation with number of pods/plant and pod length. Maximum direct effect on seed yield was observed for pod length. There was a wide range of variability in disease reaction among the genotypes. Pea seed borne mosaic virus is basically a disease of pea has been found to be transmitted to lentil. It is suggested that these two crops should not be planted near each other. Therefore, number of pods/plant, pod length, days to maturity and number of seeds/pod was emphasized as primary seed yield.