Genetic variability, heritability and genetic advance studies in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] genotypes

The study was conducted on 100 soybean germplasm lines along with 5 check varieties, evaluated using an augmented block design comprising four blocks in Kharif 2024. In this experiment, the results of variance analysis revealed a substantial amount of genetic variation across the genotypes for all ten traits studied. For each of the ten traits, PCV were higher than GCV values with small difference, suggesting that environmental influenced on trait expression was relatively low. The current investigation revealed that the number of branches and pod cluster per plant recorded high GCV and PCV. The highest heritability was observed for number of pod cluster per plant, followed by seed weight. The traits exhibiting significant heritability (h²) and genetic advance (GA) serve as reliable indicators for effective selection in breeding programmes.