Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance Studies in Chickpea (Cicer arientinum L.) under Foothill Condition of Nagaland

The analysis of variance revealed significant differences among genotypes for all the characters studied, indicating high degree of variability in the material. The highest GCV and PCV were recorded for yield per plant, no. of primary branches and 100 seed weight indicating the ample variation present for these traits in the present material. In the present study, high estimate of heritability and genetic advance were obtained for root length, plant height at maturity, number of primary branches, 100 seed weight, harvest index and seed yield per plant. Thus, selection for these traits is likely to accumulate more additive genes leading to further improvement of their performance and these traits may be used as selection criteria in chickpea breeding programme.