Multi-trait evaluation of exotic bold-seeded soybean germplasm for vegetable-type breeding under Indian conditions

The study assessed 109 soybean genotypes including 105 exotic bold-seeded accessions and four checks to identify promising donors for vegetable soybean breeding under Indian conditions. A wide range of variability was observed for yield and related traits with 80 accessions categorised as bold seeded (>13 g/100 seeds) following distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) criteria. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into three clusters with Cluster III showing superior combinations of bold seed size and yield. Principal component analysis explained 73.2 % of total variation and PC2 was closely associated with productivity and seed weight. Positive associations among yield traits and test weight while negative relationships with maturity traits indicated opportunities for simultaneous improvement. Using the multi-trait genotype-ideotype distance index (MGIDI), 11 superior genotypes (G34, G105, G68, G29, G65, G44, G42, G26, G104, G50, G7) were identified combining bold seed size, earliness and high yield potential. These findings provide valuable direction for breeding bold-seeded, high-yielding vegetable soybean cultivars suited to Indian conditions.