Correlation and path analysis studies in lentil (Lens culinaris Medic.)

An experiment was conducted with thirty five genotypes in rabi season of 2016-17 at research and education farm, Department of Agriculture Botany, College of Agriculture, Dapoli. Observations were recorded on eleven characters viz., days to initiation of flowering, day to 50 per cent flowering, days to maturity, plant height (cm), number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, 100 seed weight, straw yield per plant, harvest index and grain yield per plant. The correlation study revealed that the characters viz., plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of pods per plant, straw yield per plant and harvest index showed highly significant positive correlation with grain yield per plant (g) at phenotypic and genotypic level. The path coefficient analysis revealed that the characters viz., days to maturity, plant height (cm), number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, 100 seed weight (g), straw yield per plant (g) and harvest index (%) exhibited positive direct effect on grain yield per plant (g). On the basis of path analysis and correlation study for grain yield, it could be concluded that selection on the basis of days to initiation of flowering, number of primary branches per plant, pods per plant and 100 seed weight could help in genetic improvement of grain yield per plant in lentil.