Morphological Characterization of Field Pea (Pisum sativum L. Var. arvense) Genotypes Based on DUS Descriptors

Abstract

The main trust of this article was Morphological Characterization of Field Pea (Pisum sativum L. Var. arvense) Genotypes based on DUS descriptors. Field pea is an important rabi pulse crop requiring productivity enhancement to meet increasing demand. Morphological characterization is a cost-effective and reliable approach for assessing genetic diversity essential for varietal identification, germplasm evaluation, and crop improvement. The present study evaluated fifty-seven field pea genotypes, including two checks (Pant P 554 and JM 6), at the Seed Breeding Farm, JNKVV, Jabalpur during rabi 2024–25 in a Randomized Complete Block Design with two replications. Observations were recorded on twenty morphological and visual traits at plant and seed levels following DUS guidelines. Most traits exhibited considerable variability. Stem anthocyanin colouration, leaf axil colour, flower standard petal colour, seed testa mottling, seed parchment, and foliage waxy bloom showed dimorphic expression, while traits such as foliage colour, flower opening days, pod curvature, pod intensity of green colour, plant height, seed shape, seed surface, seed cotyledon colour, and 1000-seed weight displayed polymorphism. Stipule type was monomorphic across all genotypes. The substantial morphological diversity observed among the genotypes indicates their potential utility in varietal identification, germplasm characterization, and future field pea improvement programmes.