Correlation and Path Coefficient Analysis of Yield and Yield-contributing Traits in Bread Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Genotypes
Avinash Pandey *
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Science, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (UP), India.
Noopur Singh
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Science, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (UP), India.
Govind Mishra
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Science, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (UP), India.
Durga Prasad
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Science, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (UP), India.
Deepika Maurya
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Science, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (UP), India.
Sachchidanand Varun
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Science, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (UP), India.
Roodra Pratap Shukl
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya (UP), India.
Ayush Narayan Gawde
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Kumarganj, Ayodhya (UP), India.
Vivek Kumar
Department of Horticulture, Post Graduate College, Ghazipur (UP), India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Improving grain yield in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) requires a clear understanding of the relationships between yield and its component traits because grain yield is governed by the combined action of several quantitative characters. The present study was undertaken to identify key yield-contributing traits through phenotypic correlation and path coefficient analyses using a diverse set of bread wheat genotypes. The experiment was conducted during the Rabi season of 2025–2026 at the Experimental Farm of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. A total of 47 bread wheat genotypes, including four standard check varieties, were evaluated in an Augmented Block Design. Data were recorded for thirteen agronomic and yield-related traits, and phenotypic correlation coefficients and path coefficient analysis were used to assess the relationships among these characters and their contributions to grain yield. The analysis revealed that biological yield per plant exhibited the highest positive correlation with grain yield per plant (r = 0.998), followed by the number of effective tillers per plant (r = 0.521) and flag leaf area (r = 0.388). Path analysis indicated that biological yield had the highest positive direct effect (0.9860). Among all the characters studied, biological yield per plant exerted the highest positive direct effect on grain yield, followed by spike length and the number of effective tillers per plant, indicating their important roles in determining productivity. In contrast, plant height and peduncle length showed negative relationships with grain yield, suggesting that excessive vegetative growth was not advantageous under the experimental conditions. The findings suggest that biological yield per plant, productive tillering ability, flag leaf area, spike length, and harvest index are useful traits for indirect selection aimed at improving grain yield. Simultaneous consideration of these characters in breeding programmes may enhance selection efficiency and facilitate the development of high-yielding bread wheat cultivars under agro-climatic conditions similar to those of the present study. Further validation across multiple environments is required before broader recommendations can be made.
Keywords: Triticum aestivum L., bread wheat, grain yield, correlation analysis, path coefficient analysis, biological yield, effective tillers, harvest index