Genetic Variability and Character Association Studies in Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea L.)

India is a nation which has got huge scope for modernization. The pace of increasing modernization in India coupled with its ever increasing human population is posing a very serious impact on environment mainly due to global warming. Abrupt rainfall conditions coupled with drought conditions prevailing during the Kharif season often hampers paddy transplantation in eastern parts of India. It results in late harvesting of paddy which in turn leads to late sowing of mustard crop in the fields during Rabi season. Hence, the need of the hour is to develop Indian mustard varieties having high yield potential as well as suitable for late sown conditions in Eastern India. An investigation was carried out to study the genetic variability, correlation and path analysis of ten quantitative traits in 33 genotypes of Indian mustard procured from diverse agro-climatic zones of the country. Analyses of variance were found to be highly significant for all the characters studied. Genotypic Coefficient of Variability as well as Phenotypic Coefficient of Variability were found high for number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, number of siliqua and seed yield per plot. High heritability coupled with higher genetic advance was found for plant height, number of siliqua per plant and seed yield per plot suggesting due importance of these traits for selection in breeding program.The phenotypic and genotypic correlation studies revealed that seed yield per plot exhibited significant positive correlation with plant height, number of primary branches per plant, number of secondary branches per plant, number of siliqua per plant, siliqua length, seeds per siliqua and 1000 seed-weight. Path coefficient analysis revealed that seed yield per plot, days to maturity, plant height, number of primary branch, number of secondary branch, number of siliqua per plant had positive direct effect on seed yield per plot suggesting that direct selection for these triats can be practiced for yield improvement in Indian mustard.