Detection of epistasis in chickpea

Summary Triple test cross-analysis was used to detect epistasis in chickpea. None of the characters investigated exhibited epistasis. In the absence of epistasis, additive and dominance effects were estimated. The results indicated the importance of additive genetic variance for seed yield, biological yield, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, 100-seed weight, days to flower, and number of seeds per pod; dominance genetic variance for days to mature; and both additive and dominance genetic variances for plant height. Selection methods, such as pedigree and bulk, are suggested for the improvement of most characters.Joint contribution from ICARDA, P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria and ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), Patancheru P.O. 502 324, A.P., India.