Character Association Analysis of Yield Traits in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Twenty four cucumber genotypes were evaluated at Agricultural College & Research Institute, Killikulam during Rabi 2018. The study was conducted to assess the nature and magnitude of association among yield and its contributing traits in cucumber. The experiment was laid out in RBD with three replications. In this study, genotypic correlation was higher than phenotypic correlations indicating the highly heritable nature of the traits. It was observed that the traits viz., number of primary branches, number of fruits/plant and yield/vine have exhibited highly significant positive association with fruit yield. The genetic improvement of fruit yield thus can be obtained by direct selection of these yield components. The path coefficient analysis revealed that the number of primary branches, number of fruits/plant and yield/vine have direct positive phenotypic and genotypic effect on yield. Hence, direct selection for these traits can be done for improving fruit yield per plant.