Character association and path analysis studies in germplasm lines of rabi sorghum (Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench)

The field experiment was carried out using 121 germplasm lines of rabi sorghum to study association among the yield and its component traits, direct and indirect effects of traits on the yield. Association studies indicat-ed that at both genotypic and phenotypic levels, panicle width (rg=0.190; rp=0.204) and 1000 grain weight (rg=0.450; rp=0.520) showed significantly positive correlation with grain yield per plant. Genotypic correlation magnitude was higher than phenotypic correlation. Partitioning of yield and yield components both at phenotypic and genotypic levels into direct and indirect effects revealed that the characters that had positive direct effects on grain yield were 1000 grain weight (Ppi=+0.3085, Pgi=+0.4621), panicle length (Ppi=+0.1516, Pgi=+0.2843), days to maturity (Ppi=+0.1539, Pgi=+0.1391) at both genotypic and phenotypic level. On grain yield indicating importance of these characters hence, due consideration should be given to these characters while planning a breeding strategy by utilizing rabisorghum