Genetic diversity for pod and seed traits in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

A collection of 50 common bean genotypes were used to assess the genetic variability, character association, regression and principal component analysis of pod and seed characteristics during the Rabi seasons of 2022-23 and 2023-24 at the Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. The genotypes were highly diverse based upon the pod and seed characteristics. High heritability (h2) was observed for pod length, number of seeds per pod, seed length, seed width, 25-seed weight, and seed thickness, indicating that selection for these traits would be effective in future generations. Correlation analysis revealed that pod width, seed length, seed width, and seed thickness were significantly correlated with 25-seed weight. Regression analysis identified 25-seed weight as a dependent variable which is significantly influenced by seed length and seed thickness. Cluster analysis grouped the 50 genotypes into four clusters containing 15, 18, 6, and 11 genotypes, respectively. The first three principal components accounted for 81.53% of the total variability. Five promising common bean genotypes (HUR-79, HUR-431, HUR-4, HUR-356 and HUR-378) were identified based on pod and seed characteristics which can be used in future common bean improvement programs.