Correlation and Path Coefficient Analysis for Seed Yield and its Attributing Traits in Blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper]

Background: Blackgram is an important multipurpose grain legume. It contains high amount of protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. Productivity of this crop is still low hence efforts should make to improve the yield of blackgram by keeping knowledge about association between seed yield and its components. Thus, present investigation was aimed to determine the correlation and path coefficient analysis for seed yield and its attributing traits in blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper]. Methods: In this study, thirty five diverse genotypes of blackgram were evaluated during kharif 2018 for fourteen quantitative traits in randomized block design with three replications at Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur. Result: Significant genotypic differences were observed for all the traits studied indicating considerable amount of variation among genotypes for all the characters. The seed yield per plant exhibited highly significant and positive correlation with number of clusters per plant, number of pods per plant, pod length, biological yield per plant and harvest index both at genotypic as well as phenotypic levels. The characters namely, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, biological yield per plant and pod length had high positive direct effect on seed yield per plant. Therefore, selection based on the traits viz., number of clusters per plant, number of pods per plant, pod length, biological yield per plant, harvest index and 100-seed weight could help in enhancing the seed yield per plant in blackgram.