Abstract

Morpho-agronomic characters of 33 landraces of hyacinth bean collected from farmers residing in tribal blocks of Maharashtra were evaluated at in situ conservation centers at Akole in Ahmednagar district and BAIF Central Research Station, Urulikanchan, Pune during the year 2016–17. The results of the study revealed that the indeterminate growth habit (93.9%), green stem colour (48.5%), terminal inflorescence (54.5%), white flower colour (57.6%), straight pods (42.4%), green colour pods (51.5%), round and oval shaped seeds (27.3%) and reddish brown seed colour (42.4%) were dominant characters in evaluated landraces. Analysis of variance indicated that variations in all the characters were highly significant among the landraces. The study revealed significant variation in flowers per inflorescence (9.4–82.8), pods per inflorescence (1.4–12.0), pod length (3.7–18.1 cm) and 100-seed weight (16.7–75.9 g). This diverse gene pool of hyacinth bean landraces is valuable resource in future for promotional and varietal improvement program.