ASSOCIATION STUDIES OF QUANTITATIVE TRAITS IN SOYBEAN [GLYCINE MAX (L.) MERRILL] CULTIVARS

Abstract

This study investigated the correlation between various agronomic and morphological traits in twenty-two varieties/strains of soybean germplasm collected from different regions in Madhya Pradesh, India. The experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2022 using a Randomized Block Design with three replications. Fourteen quantitative traits were recorded from randomly selected plants, including days to 50% germination, flowering, maturity, plant height, number of branches and clusters per plant, pod characteristics, 100-seed weight, biological yield, harvest index, and seed yield per plant. Correlation coefficients were calculated at both genotypic and phenotypic levels, revealing significant associations between various traits. The findings indicated that while there existed a strong underlying connection between the examined attributes, environmental factors influenced the visible manifestation of these correlations. Genotypic correlations generally outweighed phenotypic correlations across most traits, except for specific associations. Notably, days to 50% flowering exhibited significant correlations with days to maturity, number of branches and clusters per plant, and biological yield, impacting seed yield per plant negatively. Conversely, traits such as days to maturity, number of pods per cluster, 100-seed weight, and biological yield showed positive significant correlations with seed yield per plant at both genotypic and phenotypic levels. These results underscore the importance of understanding trait correlations in soybean breeding programs to enhance yield and quality effectively. The study contributes valuable insights into selecting appropriate traits for soybean improvement strategies, aiding in the development of high-yielding and resilient soybean varieties.