No abstract

Study on genetic variability, character association and path analysis was carried out with sixty chrysan-themum genotypes keeping in mind of their applicability in future crop improvement programmes. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation were found for the character such as number of flower per plant, number of branches per plant, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, plant spread and plant height. High heritability coupled with high expected genetic advance was observed for number of flower per plant, number of secondary branches and branches per plant. In general, genotypic correlation coefficients were found to be higher than the phenotypic correlations for most of the characters. Number of flowers per plant showed highly positive significant correlation at both genotypic and phenotypic level with plant spread (0.977,0.974), number of primary branches (0.952,0,828), number of branches per plant (0.956, 0.950), number of flower per spray (0.932, 0.821) and number of secondary branches (0.770, 0.744). Path analysis revealed that plant spread, number of primary branch-es, number of flower per spray and number of branches per plant had highest positive and direct effects on number of flowers per plant at genotypic and phenotypic levels. Thus, the useful cultivars can be used as parents in hybridization programme to obtain admirable progenies

The grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is a versatile crop which used as food, feed and fodder, owing in part to its nutritive qualities (Mahler-Slasky and Kislev, 2010), belonging to the family Fabaceae, subfamily Papilionoideae, tribe Vicieae. It is also known as blue sweet pea, chickling vetch, Indian pea, Indian vetch, white vetch, almorta or alverjon (Spain), cicerchia (Italy), guaya (Ethiopia), and khesari in Bangladesh & India (Cruis, 2006). It has immense economic significance and cultivated as major crop especially in developing nations including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Ethiopia (Kumar et al., 2011 andKumar et al., 2013) whereas, grown to a lesser extent in many countries of Europe, the Middle East, Northern Africa, as well as in South America. It is endowed with many