<div style="text-align: justify;">A field experiment was conducted at Regional Research Station (Punjab Agricultural University) Gurdaspur and Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Pathankot during the spring season of 2016, to determine the performance of kidney bean genotypes at different sowing dates under sub-mountainous conditions of Punjab. The two kidney bean genotypes i.e. red and speckled were evaluated for yield potential at two locations by adopting different sowing dates viz., 20th January, 1st February, 10th February and 20th February, 2016. The treatments were laid out in split plot design with four replications by keeping sowing dates in main plots and genotypes in sub plots. Among different dates of sowing, crop sown on 10th February showed superiority than other dates through higher emergence count per meter row length, plant height, branches per plant, pods per plant, seeds per pod, length of pod, biological yield and seed yield. The seed yield in February 10 sown crop was 66.4, 33.3 and 21.7 per cent higher than February 20, January 10 and February 1 sown crop, respectively at Gurdaspur. Similarly, at Pathankot, the percent increase in seed yield in February 10 sown crop was 36.0 and 7.2 per cent as compared to February 20 and February 1 sown crop, respectively. The kidney bean genotype speckled produced significantly higher yield attributes (seeds per pod, length of pod and 100 seed weight) and seed yield at both Gurdaspur and Pathankot (935.1 and 823.1 kg per ha, respectively) as compared to red genotype. Therefore, it can be concluded that to attain higher productivity of kidney beans, the speckled genotype could be used for cultivation by adopting February 10 as the optimum time of sowing in the sub-mountainous area of Punjab.</div>

Performance of Kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L) under different sowing dates in sub-mountainous area of Punjab

Background: Seed related traits are important since they directly draw consumer preference. But there are only limited numbers of studies with reference to seed related traits. Hence, the present study was undertaken to study the genetic diversity and genetic relationship among seed traits in ricebean.&nbsp; 
 
Methods: During Rabi, 2022-23, a set of 109 ricebean germplasm with seven checks were evaluated in Augmented design II at Department of Pulses, Centre for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. 
 
Result: Morphological characterization of 109 genotypes revealed that green yellow was the predominant seed coat colour. Seed coat pattern was absent in most of the genotypes and in rest of the genotypes, speckled type was predominant. The traits viz., bulk density, seed volume and hundred seed weight exhibited high heritability with high genetic advance as per cent of mean. Seed volume, seed thickness, bulk density, seed length and seed breadth evidenced highly significant and positive association with hundred seed weight. PCA analysis revealed that the traits viz., length breadth ratio, bulk density, hundred seed weight, seed volume, seed length and seed thickness contributed to the maximum genetic variability. In addition, it also earmarked the best performing genotypes for each seed related trait. Hence, the above findings could be effectively utilized for the development of ricebean cultivars with ideal seed characteristics.

Principal Component Analysis and Genetic Association of Seed Related Traits in an Underutilized Pulse Crop, Ricebean (Vigna umbellata)