Genetic and Phenotypic Assessment of Garden Peas (Pisum sativum L.) Genotypes

The field trial was conducted during the growing season 2017-2019 in the experimental fields of the Maritsa Vegetable Crop Institute, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The study used 10 samples of garden peas (Pisum sativum L). for measurement. Plant tall (?m), height to first fertile node (?m), length of internode (cm), number of tillers, number of branches, number of ineffective nodes, total number of nodes, total number of pods per plant, one pod per fruiting handle, two pods per fruiting handle, pod length (?m), pod width (?m), pod weight per plant, weight of green grains per plant (g), % filled grains, % unfilled grains, average number of grains per pod were assessed. Analysis variance showed significant differences between the genotypes of garden peas in all the traits studied. A lower level of the genetic variance was found compared to the phenotypic one by the number of branches, total number of nodes and one pod per fruiting handle. The coefficient of genetic variation is higher than the phenotypic one for most of the traits and ranged from 5.51-5.82% for pod width and total number of nodes to 56.98-59.09% for number of branches and % unfilled grains. For signs of plant tall (98.32% and 129.31%), height to first fertile node (91.22% and 29.32%), weight of pods per plant (86.83%, 29.32), weight of green grains per plant (83.7%, 11.89%) and % filled grains (77.81% and 24.96%). It was found high inheritance combined with high genetic progress. This is a prerequisite for increasing the biological potential on these traits and a real opportunity to create new forms of garden peas possessing such qualities. The best genotypes were found GEN 1 (22/16-n.), GEN 6 (Marsy-n.), GEN 4 (Plovdiv-n.) and GEN 9 (1/17-n.). They may be used in new breeding programs and hybrid lines may be entered in competitive variety lists.