Studies on Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance for Morphological Traits in Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum- graecum L.) for Arid Climate of Rajasthan

Background: Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) is one of the oldest spices crop of the world. It is the third largest seed spice in India after coriander and cumin. It is a Rabi season crop, mostly grown in sandy loam soil. The present study was carried out to get better information regarding GCV, PCV, heritability and genetic advance, pre requisite for formulating an effective breeding programme. Methods: Fifty-two accessions of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) including four checks viz., (AFg-1, AFg-2, AFg-3 and RMt-1) were evaluated in augmented complete block design (ACBD) in Rabi 2021-2022 for nine quantitative traits. Analysis of variance for agro-morphological characters showed in significant differences among the studied accessions indicating existence of wide variability. Adjusted mean values were used for estimation of genetic variability parameters. Result: The high to medium magnitude of genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV), high heritability coupled with high genetic advance were expressed by traits viz., number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant seed yield per plant and test weight. On the basis of per se performance of fifty-six accessions including checks it is concluded that selection of number of branches per plant and number of pods per plant could be effective in EC510598 and AFg-1. Likewise effective selection could be made in IC0624520 for early maturing. For pod length, accession EC510631 and for seed yield per plant EC510737, EC510536 and AFg-1 could be efficiently utilized for improvement of respective trait in fenugreek.