Abstract:
Knowledge on genetic diversity and association of traits in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is crucial to enhance productivity and resistance for biotic and abiotic factors. However, there has been very limited information on variability and association of traits in faba bean accessions. An investigation was conducted to study phenotypic and genotypic variability, heritability and genetic advance of yield and associated traits of faba bean accessions at Kudmi in 2019 main cropping season. The total experimental materials were 81 faba bean accessions. The design was 9 X 9 simple lattice. The analysis of variance result showed that highly significant (p<0.01) differences among accessions were observed for all traits except days to maturity and number of seeds per pod. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was observed for 100 seed weight, biomass yield, harvest index, grain yield, number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, ascochyta blight, chocolate spot and rust. High broad sense heritability estimates were found for traits such as days to flowering number of pods per plant, biomass yield, grain yield, 100 seed weight, harvest index, ascochyta blight, chocolate spot and rust disease score. High GAM was recorded for number of pods per plant, biomass yield, 100 seed weight, number of branches per plant, grain yield, harvest index, ascochyta blight, chocolate spot and rust disease score. The result of correlation analysis revealed that grain yield had highly significant (p<0.01) and positive phenotypic and genotypic correlations with plant height, pod length, number of pods per plant, number of branches per plant, biomass yield, 100 seed weight and harvest index. High positive direct effects on grain yield were exerted by biological yield and harvest index at phenotypic and genotypic levels. Cluster analysis distinguished the 81 accessions into seven clusters. The first four principal components (eigen values > 1) explained 73.81% of the total variations among the 81 faba bean accessions. Generally, it can be concluded that there was considerable variations among faba bean accessions for the traits considered, implying the possibility of improving these traits through direct and indirect selection. These genetic resources should be further characterized over seasons and locations and using molecular tools.
Keywords: Clustering, Coefficient of variance, Correlation, Faba bean, Genetic advance, Heritability, Path analysis, Variability