Abstract

                                The present investigation was aimed at estimating the correlation coefficient between seed yield per plant and selected yield components and to evaluate the relative contribution of each component trait to seed yield in using path coefficient analysis. The study was carried out using 100 chickpea germplasm accessions obtained from Department of Pulses, TNAU, Coimbatore and seeds were raised in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with two replications. Seed yield had significant and positive association with all traits namely biological yield, pod yield, days to maturity, plant height, number of secondary branches, hundred seed weight, harvest index, number of primary branches, number of seeds and number of pods except days to 50 per cent flowering which revealed negative and significant correlation. Path coefficient analysis indicated that pod yield, number of secondary branches and harvest index had high positive direct effect on seed yield. Hence, consideration of these traits as significant selection criteria can contribute to the success of chickpea breeding.

Key words : Chickpea, genotypic correlation, path coefficient