In the present study, twenty one diverse genotypes of winged bean from different sources were evaluated for assessing various genetic parameters in different seed characters under Kerala conditions. This study helps in identifying the characters which mainly contributing to the seed yield. The analysis of variance showed significant difference among all the genotypes for seed yield and its component characters studied. Medium to high values of PCV and GCV were observed for pods per plant followed by seeds per pod and hundred seed weight. The GCV was very near to PCV for most of the characters, indicating a highly significant effect of genotype on phenotypic expression, with very little effect of environment indicating ample scope for selection of genotypes from available germplasm for these traits. The traits Viz., shelling percentage, seeds per pod, pods per plant exhibited high heritability coupled with high to moderate genetic advance as percent mean indicates the presence of flexible additive gene effects, which may be improved through simple plant selection methods. Correlation studies indicated significant positive associations of Pods per plant with shelling percentage and seeds per pod at genotypic and phenotypic levels respectively. Furthermore, based on the genetic parameters and per se performance, the suitable genotypes for these traits could be isolated and utilized for various winged bean improvement programmes.

Keywords: Psophocarpus tetragonolobus, Genetic variability, Heritability, Genetic advance, Correlation.