Genetic variation and relationships between traits in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) lines under dryland conditions

Studying relationships between agronomic traits would assist breeders to identify the effective traits and use proper selection intensity in their breeding programs. Forty-eight elite entries of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) as well as one Iranian cultivar (Jam), were used to estimate genetic variation for 11 morphological and phonological characters, at Kurdistan Agricultural Research Center, west of Iran. The experimental design was a simple lattice (7×7) with two replications. Genotypic differences among the entries were highly significant for some of the characters. The phenotypic and genotypic correlations among the traits were estimated. Seed yield was positively and significantly correlated with number of pods per plant, number of secondary branches, biological yield and harvest index, and negatively but significantly correlated with number of days from sowing to flowering. In most cases, phenotypic and genotypic correlations were closely correspondant. However in some cases, the differences signified the environmental effects. Path analysis showed that 100 seeds weight has the most direct effect on seed yield.