Genetic diversity and genetic advance for tolerance to pea weevil in pea genotypes

The study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity in 20 pea accessions and the magnitude of expected genetic gain in applied breeding programs for tolerance to pea weevil. Between 2019 and 2021, pea genotypes were tested in field trials as genotypic plant features and bruchid-related indicators were documented and subjected to statistical analysis. Genotypes exhibited valuable genetic variability for traits related to tolerance against B. pisorum, which may benefit future breeding efforts (PG3/1-1, L PG4/5-5, PG3/2-3). High ratios of genotypic variance to phenotypic variance for the plant traits of height, pod wall thickness, seed weight, pod number, and uninfected seeds indicated substantial intrinsic variability among the genotypes and the potential for leveraging this native variability in selection programs. Genotypic-characterizing variables generally exhibited higher broad-sense heritability and genetic advances than insect-related traits. The heritability of seed weight, pod wall thickness, pod number, and plant height was high and exceeded 65%. Heritability, combined with the substantial genetic advance (>20%), suggested that targeted selection will enhance these traits. Achieving genetic advances in selecting pea weevil tolerance in the studied gene pools requires focusing on improving secondary features positively associated with tolerance, as well as exploring new gene pools to find more suitable traits that are genetically diverse and highly heritable.