Genetic analysis of pod yield and its contributing traits in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

Abstract

The present investigation was undertaken to study the type of gene action involved for green pod yield and its components in cowpea and to estimate the general combining ability and specific combining ability of parents and crosses, respectively. The significance of both gca and sca variance for most of the characters indicated that both additive as well as non-additive types of gene actions were involved in the inheritance of these traits. The gca effects of parents suggested that 2014/COPBVAR-4, 2012/COPBVAR-2, 2014/COPBVAR-5 and Kashi Kanchan were good combiners for different yield components like number of flowers per cluster, number of pods per cluster, per cent pod set, number of pods per plant and days to last harvest. The Arka Garima, 2014/COPBVAR-5 and 2014/COPBVAR-4 were good general combiner for days to 50% flowering and Kashi Kanchan, 2014/COPBVAR-5 and 2012/COPBVAR-2 for green pod yield per plant. No single parent was found to be good for all the traits. Based on specific combining ability effects of the hybrids, the cross combination2014/COPBVAR-5 x Gomti was found to be the best combination both for number of pods per plant and green pod yield per plant. The other best specific combinations were 2012/COPBVAR-3 x Pusa Komal, 2012/COPBVAR-5 x Pusa Komal and 2012/COPBVAR-2 x Arka Garima with high positive sca effects and high mean for green pod yield per plant. These promising parents can be used in future breeding programmes and the crosses may be exploited for isolation of transgressive segregants from the segregating generations of these crosses for further improvement of pod yield in cowpea.