Combining ability for green pod yield and its traits in cowpea

A trial was conducted with cowpea using lines (10) and testers (3) mating design to ascertain the combining ability for green pod yield and yield contributing characters. Variances due to general and specific combining abilities were significant for most of the characters. Parents NDCP-3, Red Seeded, Kala Zamala and Pusa Komal were good general combiners for days to 50% flowering and parents NDCP-3, Red Seeded, RCV-7 and Pusa Komal were good general combiner for days to 1st green pod picking. Most of the crosses included good × poor, good × good, poor × poor and poor × good type of general combiners. The desirable cross combination with average × average type of general combiner were also obtained, which may be due to complimentary gene effects. The cross involving one good combiner and other average or poor combiner could produce desirable transgressive segregates, if additive genetic system was operative in good combining parents and epistatic effect also act in the same direction.