Estimates of Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance in Garden Pea (Pisum sativum L. Var. hortense) for Yield and Quality Attributes

Abstract

Germplasm evaluation constitutes a fundamental approach for the identification of superior and agronomically important genotypes. The extensive natural variation observed among genotypes indicates considerable potential for the improvement of economically important traits. Genetic variability parameters, including genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation, heritability, genetic advance, and the correlation among yield-contributing traits, are of critical importance in the formulation and implementation of effective plant breeding strategies. The present study evaluated 26 garden pea genotypes to assess genetic variability, heritability, and genetic advance for important growth, yield and quality traits. Significant variation was observed among all the genotypes, indicating wide genetic diversity and good scope for crop improvement.  The all genotypes involved in the study varied highly significant for all horticultural traits.Higher PCV than GCV values for all traits revealed the influence of environmental factors on character expression. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for traits such as plant height, pod length, number of seeds per pod, TSS, sugar content and pod yield, indicating the predominance of additive gene action and effectiveness of direct selection. The results also indicated that environmental influence on most traits was comparatively low. Therefore, phenotypic selection can be considered reliable for crop improvement. The identified superior traits may serve as important selection indices in future breeding programmes. The study concluded that these traits can be effectively utilized in breeding programmes for developing high-yielding and quality garden pea varieties. Overall, the study provides valuable information for the genetic improvement of garden pea under Eastern Uttar Pradesh conditions.