ABSTRACT The development of rice–rice farming systems in South Asia necessitates extra‐early maturing legumes that can fit into short planting windows without affecting yield productivity. This 2‐year study evaluates 43 extra‐early field pea ( Pisum sativum L.) genotypes during two consecutive years at the Pulses Research Centre (PRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bangladesh, to identify genetically diverse, early, and high‐performing lines suitable for rice‐fallow ecosystems. Seven phenological, growth, and yield‐related variables were analyzed using multivariate analyses, variability and heritability estimations, cluster analysis, path analysis, and the multi‐trait genotype–ideotype distance index (MGIDI). Significant variability was observed across all traits, with wide ranges for flowering (33–59 days), maturity (74–106 days), plant height (PH) (78–186 cm), pods per plant (PPP) (4.6–31.0), hundred seed weight (HSW) (4.9–28.8 g), yield per plant (YPP) (3.10–8.33 g), and seed yield productivity (SYPP) (950–2149 kg ha −1 ). According to principal component analysis (PCA), PC1 and PC2 accounted for 73.50% of the overall variability, with the first four principal components explaining 89.80%. A correlation study found that yield was highly impacted by PPP, PH, HSW, and YPP, although HSW exhibited a negative correlation with phenological duration. The genotypes were divided into five different groups using hierarchical clustering, which showed significant inter‐cluster divergence and plenty of room for parent selection during hybridization. Genotypic divergence and trait relationships were further confirmed by heatmap‐based clustering. Genotypes containing favorable qualities for earliness, PPP, HSW, and yield were effectively rated using MGIDI analysis. Among all genotypes, BFPX41, BFPX1, BFPX23, BFPX30, and BFPX16 emerged as prospective high‐yielding and extra‐early candidates appropriate for rice–rice systems. The future breeding of short‐duration, high‐yielding field peas appropriate for intensive cropping systems will be firmly established due to the identified genetic diversity and improved genotypes.
Azam et al. (Wed,) studied this question.