Selection indices for improvement of seed yield in Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill]

Abstract

Sixty one diverse genotypes of soybean were evaluated in a randomized block design with three replications to study of selection indices under rainfed conditions during kharif 2012. Sixty-three selection indices involving seed yield and five yield components viz., number of primary branches per plant, 100-seed weight, biological yield per plant, harvest index and days to maturity were constructed using the discriminant function technique. Discriminant function analysis indicated that selection efficiency of the function was improved by increasing number of characters in the index. Among the single character index, biological yield per plant exhibited higher genetic advance and relative efficiency over straight selection for seed yield. The index based on five characters viz., seed yield per plant, 100 seed weight, biological yield per plant, harvest index and days to maturity recorded the highest genetic advance as well as relative efficiency and selection efficiency. These characters could be advantageously exploited in the soybean breeding programmes.

Keywords

• Soybean
• discriminant function
• relative efficiency
• selection indices.