Abstract
Common bean is a source of dietary protein and the second most important legume crop in Africa next to faba bean. In Ethiopia common bean is the most important legume as the source of protein and export commodity. Hence, development of commercial varieties is one of the major tasks to meet increasing demand of the stake holders. To this effect, understanding the genetic variability, heritability and association between grain yield and other agronomic traits is necessary for effective plant breeding program. In this context, a field experiment was conducted during 2016/2017 cropping season at Areka Agricultural Research Center in southern Ethiopia with the objective of evaluating common bean genotypes for yield and related traits and also estimate the variability present among the genotypes. Treatments consisted of thirty three common bean genotypes were laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Common bean genotypes exhibited considerable variations for agronomic traits and grain yield. Majority of the traits; plant height, number of nodes, internode length, leaf area, LAI, biological yield, pods per plant, HI and HSW had higher PCV. Genotypic coefficient of variance (GCV) varied from 1.88% to 37.72% with the highest GCV recorded for HSW. Heritability in broad sense (H2) ranged from 0.52% to 95.33% with the highest value observed for HSW. The present study revealed significant variation among genotypes for traits considered except few insignificant traits. In addition, almost all the genotypes were well adapted to the study area and hence, the high yielding genotypes could be directly used as seed sources for production of common bean and some of the genotypes with best diseases resistance reaction, and with high heritability can possibly be used in common bean improvement program.
Highlights
Common bean is a source of dietary protein and the second most important legume crop in Africa next to faba bean [1]
Since common bean is cultivated in most parts of Ethiopia with a wide range of variation in altitude, rainfall, temperature, cropping system and socio-economic factors, it is essential to assess the pattern of character variations among and between accessions to resolve the problems in different regions and adaptation zones
Classical methods of estimating diversity among groups of plants have relied upon morphological characters, which still play a central role in the analysis of genetic variability in crop species and their relatives [9]. us, this study was initiated with the objectives of estimating the genetic variability of Ethiopian common bean commercial cultivars and promising genotypes as well as to evaluate their performance for economically important quantitative and qualitative traits
Summary
Common bean is a source of dietary protein and the second most important legume crop in Africa next to faba bean [1]. Since common bean is cultivated in most parts of Ethiopia with a wide range of variation in altitude, rainfall, temperature, cropping system and socio-economic factors, it is essential to assess the pattern of character variations among and between accessions to resolve the problems in different regions and adaptation zones. Assessing diversity in these germplasm introductions can possibly enable to identify elite genotypes with the greatest novelty and are most suitable for rescue or incorporation into crop improvement programs. Classical methods of estimating diversity among groups of plants have relied upon morphological characters, which still play a central role in the analysis of genetic variability in crop species and their relatives [9]. us, this study was initiated with the objectives of estimating the genetic variability of Ethiopian common bean commercial cultivars and promising genotypes as well as to evaluate their performance for economically important quantitative and qualitative traits
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
