Association of Qualitative Characters With Agronomic Traits, and Their Breeding Importance in Lentil (Lens culinaris...

There is a paucity of available information on lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) qualitative traits and their associations with agronomic traits, despite such information being essential for the selection of best genotypes. Hence, this study was undertaken to evaluate relationship among qualitative and agronomic traits, and to explore the significance of these relationships for lentil breeding programs. One hundred ninety-two lentil germplasm were evaluated in 2025 at Dogolo and Enewari in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Pot experiment was also undertaken at Debre Berhan Agricultural Research Centre for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025). Alpha lattice experimental design was used and data on 24 agro-morphological traits were collected. Chi-square tests, Cramér's V, Spearman's rank correlation, point-biserial correlation, and principal component analysis were employed to assess relationships and effect sizes among qualitative and agronomic traits. Additionally, Welch's t-test and the Welch's ANOVA were used to compare the mean values of agronomic traits across different groups. Large association was observed among seed and flower characters (Cramer (V) = 0.61 to 0.76), and also seed with leaf related characters (V = 0.30 to 0.35) across both experiments. On the other hand, leaf pubescence showed a strong association with days to maturity (ρ = 0.41-0.53), as well as with seed (ρ = -0.27 to -0.35) and pod (ρ = -0.23 to -0.35) development across both experiments. Mean comparison also showed that germplasm with medium leaf pubescence tend to have longer time to mature while producing fewer seeds and pods per plant compared to those with absent or slightly dense pubescence. Seed pigmentation pattern, cotyledon and flower color also showed a larger effect size on the phenology, seed size and yield traits where highly pigmented type tended to mature earlier and produce smaller seeds but showed improved yield performance. Overall, this study demonstrates that strong associations exist between several qualitative and agronomic traits, which provide valuable insights for breeders in the selection of desirable traits for adaptation and variety development, and also offer a useful basis for further studies on linkage analysis, association mapping, underlying molecular mechanisms controlling those traits in diverse lentil germplasm.