Combining ability of quantitative characters in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp)

Abstract

Eight diverse genotypes/cultivars of cowpea, namely Arka Garima, IVRCP-1, IVRCP-2, , IVRCP-3, Cowpea-263, NDCP-13, Sel.2-1 and Red Seeded were crossed in all possible combinations excluding reciprocals during kharif season at ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi (U.P.). Estimates of general combining ability (gca) effect of parents and specific combining ability (gca) effect of F1 hybrids were found highly significant for all the characters except sca for peduncle length and 100 seed weight. The three best performing hybrids showing highest negative sca effects were IVRCP- x Sel.2-1, IVRCP-1 x Sel.2-1 and Arka Garima x NDCP-13 for plant height and NDCP-13 x Sel.2-1, Arka Garima x NDCP-13 and IVRCP-1 x Red Seeded for days to 50% flowering, respectively. The superior performance of F1s showing high sca effects was largely due to epistatic interaction. The preponderance of additive gene effects for all the yield contributing characters under study suggest that single plant selection in early segregating of diverse crosses would be higly effective in vegetable cowpea. However, non-additive effects of green pod yield should also be given due consideration while deciding breeding stratehy in cowpea improvement programme for green pod yield.