MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PIGEON PEA [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh] ACCESSIONS FOR AGRONOMIC TRAITS IN ASSOSA DISTRICT, NORTHWESTERN ETHIOPIA

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Pigeon pea is a tropical grain legume being cultivated as important pulses for human food, feed and soil fertility improvement. Pigeon pea research in terms of crop improvement is still at a low level in Ethiopia. <strong>Objective: </strong>To estimate the Genetic variability of pigeon pea accessions with respect to important qualitative and quantitative traits and select high yielding grain and promising traits for variety development. <strong>Methodology</strong>: Treatments consisted in twenty two pigeon pea accessions (MPG1, MPG2, MPG3, MPG4, MPG5, MPG6, MPG7, MPG8, MPG9, MPG10, MPG11, MPG12, MPG13, MPG14, MPG15, MPG16, MPG17, MPG18, MPG19, MPG20, MPG21 and MPG22) collected from Assosa area. Treatments were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. <strong>Results:</strong> Qualitative characteristics recorded for accessions showed different modalities and frequencies at vegetative growth stage with the qualitative traits dominated were semi-spreading growth habit 65 %, leaflet shape with lanceolate 70 %, color about 44 % of the accessions exhibited yellow, seed size where 55 % accounted large sized, seed color pattern: 52% of accessions showed plain, pod color where 56 % genotypes had purple, seed with red dominated was 50 % and 71 % of accessions had totally pigmented pod. With respect to quantitative traits, genotypes accessions MPG11 and MPG15 had relatively higher grain yield (> 4000 kg/ ha) with the highest grain yield recorded for genotype MPG18. <strong>Implications:</strong> The investigation of the present study for morphological evaluation of genotype Pigeon pea exhibited genetic variability among accession. <strong>Conclusion</strong>: Agronomic traits such as plant height, branches per plant, pods per plant, seeds per pod, pod length, pod width, hundred seed weight and grain yield for accessions were exhibited significant differences which suggest high yielding accessions could be directly recommended for production while others could be utilized effectively to develop high yielding varieties through hybridization followed by selection. </p>