This study used 20 chickpea genotypes (Cicer arietinum L.) introduced by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and one French variety. The genotypes’ sowing had a randomized complete block design with three replicates at the University of Dohuk, Iraq, during the harvest season of 2018–2019. Stability analysis revealed significant averages for all traits, except days to 50% flowering, secondary branches per plant, and grain pods. According to the analysis of variance, the chickpea genotypes showed significant (p ≤ 0.01) differences for all morphological and yield-related traits, except plant height, secondary branches per plant, the height of the first pod above the ground, and the grains per pod. The chickpea genotype FLIP09-114C, followed by four other local genotypes, including FLIP09-222C, FLIP09-230C, and FLIP09-220C, displayed the best performance and exceeded the rest of the genotypes for yield-related traits. The results provided positive phenotypic and genetic correlations between traits like secondary branches, grains per pod, and grain yield, and positive environmental correlations with 100-grain weight, primary branches, and pod number per plant. Meanwhile, negative correlations were evident with pod number per plant, and it was significantly negative among the number of grains per pod, grain yield, and the number of secondary branches per each plant.
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), phenotypic and genetic correlations, selection indices, yield-related traits
The results demonstrated the traits secondary branches per plant, grains per pod, and grain yield had significant positive phenotypic and genetic correlations; selection index I4, which included features related to pods per plant, appeared to be superior. This further confirmed genetic diversity observed in most chickpea genotypes and their variables, which may be effective to select promising genotypes with desirable traits to maximize crop productivity.