Morphological Variability, Trait Associations and Genetic Divergence in Desi Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the third most important pulse crop worldwide, but its genetic improvement is constrained by the narrow genetic base of cultivated germplasm. The present investigation was carried out during Rabi 2024–25 at Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, to assess the existing variability, trait interrelationships and genetic divergence among 24 desi chickpea genotypes. Twelve quantitative traits were studied and analysis of variance revealed significant differences among genotypes for all traits. Sabour Chana-1 was identified as the highest-yielding genotype. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) exceeded the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for most traits, while both values were equal for protein content (34.78%). Grain yield, number of effective pods per plant, protein content, total pods per plant and number of secondary branches showed the highest genetic variability. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was recorded for protein content, number of effective pods per plant, grain yield, number of primary branches, total number of pods per plant, biological yield, number of secondary branches and hundred seed weight. Correlation analysis showed positive correlationss of grain yield per plant with the number of primary and secondary branches, total and effective pods per plant, biological yield and harvest index. Genetic divergence analysis using Mahalanobis D² statistics grouped the 24 genotypes into eight clusters, with cluster II accommodating the largest number of genotypes (six) and clusters V and VI showing the maximum inter-cluster distance, indicating strong potential for generating transgressive segregants. The number of pods per plant contributed the highest percentage towards total genetic divergence, followed by 100-seed weight and grain yield per plant. The study confirms the presence of exploitable morphological and genetic variability among the tested genotypes and identifies divergent, high-performing lines that can serve as useful parental material in chickpea breeding programmes aimed at yield enhancement.