Relationship between Yield and Yield Contributing Traits in Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L) Moench]

Abstract

Knowledge about the association between grain yield and yield contributing traits is important for sorghum development programs. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine correlations and path-coefficients between grain yield per plant and yield contributing traits. The experiment was conducted during Kharif 2019 in the Department of millets, TNAU, Coimbatore, India by using nine parents and twenty hybrids to study the genotypic correlations on the basis of seventeen traits.  Analysis of variance evinced significant variation for all the traits under study. In correlation studies, the grain yield was positively associated with plant height (0.603), leaf length (0.613), leaf area index (0.501), flag leaf length (0.529), panicle length (0.608), panicle weight (0.930) and hundred seed weight (0.643). In path analysis, the traits leaf length, flag leaf length, panicle length, panicle weight and hundred seed weight exposed highly direct and indirect effects. Selection for a trait is effective when both the correlation and direct effect are higher and positive as this indicates its true association. Hence this investigation revealed flag leaf length, panicle length, panicle weight and hundred seed weight exhibited positive association and direct effect on grain yield, which indicates that the selection towards these characters will improve the yield.