Combining ability and character association of agronomic and biochemical traits in pea (Pisum sativum L.)

- Identification of parents with high sucrose and total sugar content.
- Identification of good combiner parents for important traits.
- Identification of best cross-combinations for important sugar components and yield components.
- Trait association between yield and biochemical traits, and of biochemical traits at green stage and dry stage.
- Importance of gene action for suggesting breeding method.

Information on combining ability and gene action that governs inheritance of yield and quality related traits can help breeders to select suitable parents and devise an appropriate breeding strategy. In the present study ten parents were used in a crossing program in line × tester mating design to study combining ability for sugar composition in pea. Among the parents, HFP94-26, PantP25, DVP1, PantP101, DMR7 and DDR80 were used as lines and DDR27, DDR44, DVP2 and DMR58 were used as testers. Parental lines and their crosses were evaluated for nutritional parameters as well as yield and its components. Lines, tester and crosses together revealed significant differences for all the traits. Biochemical traits in general were not associated with yield component traits. Genotypes DMR7, DDR80 and DVP2 had good general combining ability for high sucrose and total sugar content at green stage while DMR7 had high GCA for these traits at dry stage. These genotypes could serve as potential donors in a vegetable pea breeding programme for enhancing sweetness in elite genotypes. For the total sugar content the two best specific combiner crosses were HFP94-26 × DMR58 and PantP101 × DDR44. These crosses can be used for isolation of superior lines combining sugar content and high yield in the segregating generations.