Analysis of yield and its components in black gram through generation mean analysis

Understanding the gene action governing yield and its component traits is crucial for developing an effective breeding strategy. In the present study, generation mean analysis was employed to unravel the genetic architecture of yield and its component traits in three crosses of black gram. The crosses, namely ADT 3 × VBG 17007 (cross 1: C1), ADT 3 × VBG 19010 (cross 2: C2) and VBG 13003 × VBG 17007 (Cross 3: C3), were developed using four parents contrasting in salt tolerance. The analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the five generations-P1, P2, F1, F2 and F3-for most of the traits. All studied traits showed significance in either one or both the C and D scales, indicating the inadequacy of the additivedominance model in explaining the genetic variation. Most traits, except for clusters per plant in Cross 1 (ADT 3 × VBG 17007) and seeds per pod across all crosses, exhibited significant additive genetic components. Furthermore, non-additive components, including dominance, additive × additive and dominance × dominance interactions, were significant for all traits across the three crosses. Thissuggests the presence of epistasis, emphasizing the need to delay selection to later generations in these crosses for effective genetic improvement.