STUDY ON YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENT TRAITS IN CHICKPEA (CICER ARIETINUM L.)

Fifty-six desi and kabuli chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes were evaluated for yield component traits along with six cultivated varieties as checks, viz., Pusa 72, Pusa 256, Pusa 262, Pusa 272, Pusa 1003, and Pus 1053. Significat variation was observed for number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, plant canopy height, plnat canopy width, days to 50% flowering, flowering duration, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, yield and 100-seed weight. Correlation studies indicated significant positive correlation between grain yield on one hand and number of primary branches (r=0.77) and biological yield (r=0.70) on other hand. These characters can be utilized for indirectly selecting high yielding genotypes.