Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2017) 6(9): 2417-2422 2417 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.609.297 Association Studies for Seed Yield and Related Morpho-Physiological Traits in Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) under Mid Hill Conditions of North Western Himalayas, India Yudhvir Singh, Simran Sharma, Bhallan Singh Sekhon * , Surbhi Sharma, Arti Verma and Vishalakshi College of Agriculture, Department of Vegetable Science and Floriculture, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, 176 062, Himachal Pradesh, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) also known as Winter bean, Bakla bean, English bean, Windsor bean, tic(k) bean, horse bean and pigeon bean belongs to family Leguminosae. As its name suggests this is the only bean grown in winter. This crop has been reported to be originated in Egypt, however the evidences given by Cubero (1974) suggests that the most acceptable centre of origin is either West or Central Asia. The crop is grown in West Asia, North Africa and some parts of Europe during winter for green tender pods as vegetable and dry seeds as pulse therefore, it is an important dual purpose crop. In India it is grown as minor pulse crop in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and some parts of Bihar whereas, in hilly regions it is grown for fresh tender pods during winter. There is no systemic record of its area and production available in India. Human malnutrition is a very serious problem of many underdeveloped and developing countries including India. Incidentally faba bean seeds are a good source of protein (27.1- 36.1%) (Duc, 1997; Haciseferogullari et al., International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 9 (2017) pp. 2417-2422 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Human malnutrition is a very serious problem of many underdeveloped and developing countries including India. To overcome this problem, there is strong need to focus on breeding of underutilized crops which are of high nutritional value. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to find out interrelationships among different traits and their direct and indirect contribution towards seed yield. Seed yield per plant showed significant positive correlation with pods per plant, pod length, seeds per pod, branches per plant, seed size and pod yield per plant at both phenotypic and genotypic levels while with nodes per plant, plant height, 100-seed weight and harvest index at genotypic level only. Pods per plant, seeds per pod, plant height and total soluble solids had high positive direct effects at both phenotypic and genotypic level while traits such as seed size, pod length and pod yield per plant also had positive direct contribution to the total association with seed yield per plant at phenotypic and genotypic level, respectively. From the study, it can be concluded that attention should be paid to these characters for augmentation of seed yield and these traits could be used as selection criteria in faba bean breeding programmes. Keywords Breeding, Correlation, Faba bean, Path analysis, Seed yield. Accepted: 23 August 2017 Available Online: 10 September 2017 Article Info