Assessment of Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance for Yield and Yield Related Traits in Blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper]
Blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) is an important pulse crop, but its productivity is constrained by limited exploitable genetic variability and several biotic and abiotic factors. Assessment of genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance is essential for identifying yield-related traits that can respond effectively to selection and thereby support genetic improvement in blackgram breeding programmes. The present investigation was carried out at the Norman E. Borlaug Crop Research Centre, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India, during the kharif season of 2023-24, to assess the extent of genetic variability, heritability and expected genetic advance for eleven yield and yield-related traits in blackgram and to identify the traits on which direct selection would be effective. Forty blackgram genotypes comprising released varieties and advanced breeding lines were evaluated in a randomised block design with three replications in single-row plots 3 m in length, with 30 cm between rows and 10 cm between plants. Observations were recorded from five randomly selected competitive plants of each genotype within each replication. However, days to 50% flowering and days to maturity were assessed on a whole-plot basis. The genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, broad-sense heritability, and genetic advance expressed as a percentage of the mean were estimated using standard biometrical procedures. Analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among the genotypes for all eleven traits evaluated.PCV values were higher than the corresponding GCV values for all the traits, although the differences were narrow throughout, with a maximum of 3.00 per cent. High PCV and GCV were recorded only for seed yield per plant (28.18% and 25.18%), followed by moderate estimates for pods per plant, clusters per plant and primary branches per plant. High heritability was recorded for all eleven traits, ranging from 61.25 per cent for pod length to 90.10 per cent for 100-seed weight. High genetic advance as per cent of mean was observed for seed yield per plant (46.32%), pods per plant (28.69%), clusters per plant (25.59%) and primary branches per plant (24.01%). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean for seed yield per plant, pods per plant, clusters per plant and primary branches per plant indicates the predominance of additive gene action in the inheritance of these traits, and simple selection based on these characters would be effective for yield improvement in blackgram.