Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Black Gram [Vigna mungo (L) Hepper] Genotypes

The present investigation sought to evaluate the genetic diversity and determine well-suited genotypes for crossbreeding initiatives with the goal of augmenting the desirable traits of black gram [Vigna mungo (L) Hepper] commonly referred to ‘urd bean’ in India. Twenty-seven genotypes were evaluated for various quantitative and biochemical traits during late rabi season of 2020 and statistical analysis was conducted to estimate genetic parameters and determine divergence. Significant variations were observed among the genotypes for maximum traits studied, indicating wide genetic diversity. Phenotypic observation revealed the influence of both genotype and environment on the expression of traits. Traits namely total soluble sugars, protein content, yield per plot, yield per plant, number of pods per plant, number of pods per cluster showed high heritability coupled with high genetic advance. The result provides valuable insights for breeders to develop selection programme for genetic improvement of black gram. Additionally, clustering analysis based on D2 distance categorized the genotypes into 5 distinct clusters, highlighting their unique characteristics. The study identified traits contributing significantly to divergence, with yield per plot (31.34%) showing the highest contribution. Hybridization between the genotypes of cluster III and cluster IV may produce a wide range of variability for selection and may produce better transgressive segregants. Genotypes of cluster I could be used as source for earliness.