The present study was conducted at AICRP on Vegetable Crops, Orissa University of Agriculture& Technology, Bhubaneswar, and Odisha, India during rabi season of 2017-18 with an objective to study the correlation among the different traits in chilli genotypes for improvement in fruit yield and yield attributing traits. Thirty four genotypes were evaluated in a RBD with three replications. The genotypes were evaluated on the basis of 15 parameters that included growth and yield. Characters like average fresh fruit weight, number of fruits per plant, fruit girth, and average dry fruit weight were positively and significantly correlated to yield at genotypic and phenotypic level. However, significant negative correlations were found with days to initial flowering, days to 50 % flowering and leaf area. Number of fruits per plant was found to exert maximum positive direct effect on yield followed by average fresh fruit weight, average dry fruit weight and fruit girth. Thus direct selection through the characters would be very effective in chilli improvement programme. | Character association and path co-efficient analysis studies on yield and yield attributing characters in chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) Germplasm
