Vol. 9, Special Issue 2, Part H (2025)

Genetic variability is prerequisite for any crop improvement in a crop. Assessment of clusterbean genotypes for tolerance to salt stress has prime importance. The survey of genetic variability with the help of suitable genetic parameters like genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variations, heritability estimates and genetic advance as percentage of mean are indispensible in breeding programmes aimed at improvement of seed yield. The current study was aimed to assess variability for germination and seedling traits in clusterbean genotypes during seedling growth and early growth stages. In this laboratory experiment, 10 genotypes of clusterbean were evaluated at different salinity levels (0.0%, 0.4% and 0.6% NaCI concentrations) in two sets i.e. set-I and set-II for analyzing the effect of salinity on germination (%) and seedling traits viz; shoot length, root length, seedling length, root to shoot length ratio, shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight, seedling fresh weight, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, seedling dry weight and seedling vigour index in clusterbean genotypes. Observations were recorded on 12^th day and 17^th day of sowing for set-I and set-II, respectively. The genotypes, salinity levels and their interaction exhibited significant differences in all the salinity levels for most of the traits in both the sets. The GCV and PCV values were observed in root dry weight followed by shoot fresh weight in set-I; and in set-II these were highest for root dry weight and root fresh weight. It indicated that variation was highest for these traits among the genotypes.