Genetic parameters and correlation coefficient study of some quantitative traits in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merill]

Abstract

Selection is a continuous activity in plant breeding programs that must be carried out by plant breeders in order to obtain superior plant genotypes 50 genotypes of soybean were evaluated through alpha lattice incomplete design with three replications in 2019 and 2020 rain seasons to determine the extent of genetic parameters and correlation coefficient for genotypes improvement in 12 agro-morphological traits: Plant height at 4weeks, Plant height at 8weeks, Plant height at 12weeks, Days to 50 % flowering, Number of branches, Days to maturity, Above ground biomass, Pods per plant, Seeds per pod, Seed yield per plot, 100 seed weight and Harvest index. Data from the two years trials were subjected to analysis of variance following the procedure of Statistical Tools for Agricultural Research (STAR 2.0.1) and Plant Breeding Tools (PBTools 1.3, 2014). Significance means separation was done using Least Significant Difference (LSD) at P < 0.05. The results showed there were significant differences between genotypes. Phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were higher than genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for the traits studied. Broad sense heritability ranges from low (value <30) to high (value>60). Combined correlation coefficient for the two cropping seasons revealed that the yield components exhibited varying trends of correlation relationship between themselves, Seed yield had significant positive correlation with Number of branches, Pods per plant and Harvest Index with correlation coefficient values of 0.477, 0.525 and 0.639 respectively. The results obtained suggested that, Number of branches, Pods per plant and Harvest index were the most important traits that determined seed yield and could be used for future yield improvement in soybean breeding programme