Genetic Variability, Correlation and Path Coefficient Analysis of Yield and Some Yield Components in Landraces of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik)

The critical assessment of the nature and magnitude of variability in the available germplasm and finding out associations among yield and its contributing characters are the pre-requisites to any breeding program. Keeping these points in view, genetic variability and interrelationship among 10 quantitative characters were studied in a set of 27 lentil genotypes during two growing seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The field experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design and conducted at the research farm, Scientific Agricultural Research Center of Dara'a, GCSAR, Syria. The results showed that sufficient variability was present among the genotypes for all the characters studied. The component of genotypic variance of characters like number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant, 100-seed weight, biological yield, harvest index, and seed yield was higher than the environmental variance component; indicating that the genotypic component was the major contributor to total or phenotypic variance. Generally, the values of PCV were higher than the corresponding ones of GCV for all the characters, but in many cases, both values differed only slightly. Characters like number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant, biological yield and seed yield have recorded accompanied high estimates of GCV, heritability and genetic advance over character mean. The seed yield showed positive and highly significant associations with number of primary branches per plant and biological yield at the both genotypic and phenotypic levels. The highest positive direct effects have belonged to number of primary branches per plant followed by plant height and days to 50 % flowering; suggesting the importance of these characters and necessity of adoption them as selection criteria for seed yield improvement.