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Background: Pigeon pea is an economical source of protein cultivated in arid and semi arid tropical areas of the world. Genetic improvement mainly depends upon the amount of genetic variability available in the population. It is necessary for a breeder to understand the extent of genotypic and phenotypic variation among the germplasm to design an effective breeding programme. Methods: Eighty pigeon pea genotypes were evaluated for their variability with regard to yield and yield contributing traits. The experiment was carried out at Regional Research Station, Paiyur during 2021-2022 following randomized block design with two replications. Result: The traits viz., plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant and single plant yield can be improved following simple selection method as they exhibited high variability in combination with high heritability and genetic advance. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed three significant principal components (PCs), which accounted for 81.24% of phenotypic variation among the studied genotypes. The traits days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant and hundred seed weight had significantly positive association and positive direct effect with yield. Hence, these traits can be used as good selection criteria for yield improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lentil is one of the most significant pulse crops, frequently referred to as "poor man's meat" because of its high protein content and inexpensive price. The present study was assessed for eleven morphological and yield variables to determine genetic variability, correlation and path co-efficients. Methods: The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design using 56 different homogeneous progenies of a spontaneous mutant of lentil variety DPL 62 and four control varieties in triple replica during rabi 2017-18. Result: Significant amount of variability was observed for all the traits. High phenotypic coefficients of variance and genotypic coefficients of variance coupled with high heritability and genetic advance were observed for peduncle length, number of pods per plant, seed width, seed yield per plant suggesting that these traits are genetically controlled by additive gene action. Seed yield per plant exhibited significant positive association with number of branches/plant and number of pods/plant while number of pods/plant revealed highest positive direct effect on seed yield per plant followed by 100-seed weight, number of branches per plant, days to maturity and leaflet breadth. Therefore, selection for these characters will directly lead to improvement in the yielding ability of lentil genotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundnut yield in rain fed areas has been limited by drought stress because pod yield and other growth parameters have been severely affected. The aim of this study is to evaluate the genetic variability, character association and path analysis between yield and its contributing traits in 30 groundnut genotypes under drought. Analysis of variance revealed the existence of significant differences among genotypes for all characters studied. The magnitude of PCV and GCV was moderate to high for number of pods per plant, dry haulm yield, kernel yield, plant height and dry pod yield. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for kernel yield, plant height, dry pod yield, and hundred kernel weight indicating the role of additive gene in expressing these traits. Dry pod yield was significant positively correlated with kernel yield, no of pods per plant, hundred kernel weight and SPAD chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR). Path coefficient analysis indicated that number of pods per plant and hundred kernel weight were essential traits to be considered for realizing the improvement in yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]