Trait Association Studies in Early Segregating Generations of Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp]

Background: Cowpea is a major pulse crop in India. Developing cowpea cultivars with high yield and sustainable protein content contributes to food and nutritional security. Hybridization followed by careful selection of genotypes from the early segregating populations may produce a final cultivar with high yield coupled with high protein content. Methods: The genetic material used in the present investigation were derived from crosses of three cultivars i.e., H10 (Anaswara x PKB 3) and H11 (Anaswara x PKB 4). The crosses were evaluated in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur during cowpea season 2015-2017. Trait association based on correlation and path analysis was carried out with phenotypic data from F2 and F3 generations of the crosses. Result: In F2 generation of cross H10, number of pods per plant and number of seeds per pod displayed significant positive correlation with seed yield per plant. In F3 generation of cross H10, number of pods per plant and 100-seed weight per plant exhibited significant positive correlation with seed yield per plant. In cross H11, number of pods, pod length, single pod weight, number of seeds per pod and 100-seed weight revealed significant1 positive correlation with yield in segregating generations. On path analysis, various quantitative characters showed positive direct effects on seed yield. Selection of segregants based on the yield contributing characters is likely to be desirable for yield improvement in cowpea.