Primary evaluation of seed characteristics of common bean landraces collected from himalaya region of Pakistan

Abstract

Germplasm evaluation is of great importance in breeding and crop improvement. Common bean accessions grown by the farming community in Himalaya region are an important source of genetic diversity. A total of 96 indigenous accessions of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were collected from three different areas of Himalaya region of Pakistan. In all accessions, 78.1% were collected from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while 11.5% from Kashmir and 10.4% from Gilgit Baltistan. Primary evaluation of seed characteristics was done according to International Board of Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) descriptors. Significant variation was observed for seed color, seed shape and seed coat pattern. Twenty-nine different colours of common beans were observed in these 96 accessions with pre-dominance of red colour. Four different seed shapes were observed i.e., Cuboid, oval, truncate fastigiated and kidney shape. Cuboid seed shape was predominant with a frequency of 46.8%. Seed coat pattern was absent in 51% accessions. Five different seed coat patterns i.e., constant mottled, stripped, circular mottling, rhomboid spotted and speckled were recorded in remaining 49% accessions. Cluster analysis was performed and 96 accessions were grouped in four clusters (G1, G2, G3 and G4) based on primary seed characters. The G4 was further divided into two sub groups i.e., G4-A and G4-B. G4-A comprised 25 accessions whereas G4-B contained 30 accessions. The G3, G2 and G1 had 17, 16 and 8 accessions, respectively. Considerable variation was found among all the groups. Conservation and characterization of this diverse germplasm is recommended for future breeding programmes.