Asian Journal of Research in Biosciences

The present study was conducted to evaluate the magnitude of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance for yield and its associated traits in mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) germplasm. Eleven quantitative traits, namely days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of clusters per plant, number of pods per cluster, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, pod length, 100-seed weight and seed yield per plant, were assessed. Substantial variation was recorded among the genotypes for all the traits evaluated. The widest phenotypic range was observed for seed yield per plant (4.90–12.03 g), followed by plant height (48.93–73.67 cm) and number of pods per plant (13.20–28.20). The genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were highest for seed yield per plant (19.56 and 20.51%, respectively), followed by number of pods per plant (19.11 and 19.88%) and number of clusters per plant (17.91 and 18.80%). In general, the close correspondence between GCV and PCV indicated a comparatively lower influence of environmental factors on the expression of several traits. Broad-sense heritability was high for most of the characters, ranging from 54.20% for days to maturity to 96.70% for 100-seed weight. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of clusters per plant, number of pods per cluster, number of pods per plant, 100-seed weight and seed yield per plant. Seed yield per plant recorded high heritability (90.90%) and high genetic advance as per cent of mean (38.42%), suggesting the predominance of heritable genetic effects and the effectiveness of selection for improving this trait. The results indicated substantial genetic variability among the mungbean germplasm and identified yield-associated traits with greater potential for direct selection in breeding programmes. Therefore, selection based on the number of pods per plant, the number of clusters per plant, 100-seed weight and seed yield per plant may be effective for developing superior mungbean genotypes.