Genetic diversity dataset on yield and yield contributing traits of cultivated soybean germplasm of Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, soybeans have been cultivated as a multipurpose crop. Researchers have been collecting soybean germplasm from different countries and trying to adapt it to the Bangladesh ecosystem to increase its production. However, there is a need to analyze the genetic diversity of existing genotypes to efficiently use them as parents in breeding programs for the improvement of soybean. An experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with five replications to estimate genetic variability and to analyze the correlation and path coefficient between yield and its components in 275 cultivated soybean genotypes. Soybean genotypes were planted in an open field during the winter season, and data were collected based on 13 agronomic parameters. Analysis of variance for yield and yield contributing traits showed significant (p<0.01) variation among the genotypes for all the studied traits. Results of genetic analyses showed a higher phenotypic coefficient of variation compared to their corresponding genotypic coefficient of variation for all the traits measured, which indicates that the environment influenced the traits to some extent. High heritability along with high genetic advance and genetic advance as percentage of mean were found for plant height, yield per plant, number of pods per plant, and number of seeds per plant, indicated the scope of improvement for these characters. Yield per plant showed a significant positive correlation with the biomass (0.06048), plant height (0.05414), number of branches per plant (0.03298), number of pods per plant (0.61212), pod length (0.01629), number of seeds per plant (0.1689) and 1000-seed weight (0.28704) whereas it showed a non-significant positive correlation with pod length. In contrast, yield per plant showed a negative correlation with the days to maturity, number of nodes per plant, seed length, and seed breath. Path coefficient analysis showed that the number of pods per plant had the highest (0.61212) positive direct effect on yield per plant, followed by the number of seeds per plant, days maturity, number of branches per plant, 1000-seed weight, plant height, and pod length. The study's comprehensive findings identified GPB 181, GPB 80, GPB 128, and GPB 262 as top-performing soybean genotypes. These promising genotypes may serve as parental materials for developing better soybean varieties, emphasizing the potential for maximizing production in surrounding environments. Therefore, the number of pods per plant and seeds per plant could be considered as important selection criteria for yield improvement in soybeans.