Estimates of genetic parameters in diverse genotypes of lentil

Two hundred forty five genotypes of lentils were evaluated for seed yield and its quality traits during 2009–2010. Significant genotypic differences were observed for all the quality traits studied, indicating considerable amount of variation among genotypes. PCV was greater than GCV for all the characters. High GCV was observed for seed yield/plant, 100-seed weight, number of pods/plant, biological yield and harvest index. Heritability estimates were high (>80%) for all the characters except number of primary branches. Genetic advance were high for seed yield/plant, 100-seed weight, number of pods/plant and biological yield. Correlation studies indicated that most of the yield contributing characters were positively and significantly correlated at both phenotypic and genotypic levels. Path analysis revealed direct effects of biological yield and harvest index on seed yield. These characters merit special attention in formulating selection strategy in lentils for developing high yielding varieties.