Evaluation of Phenotypic Diversity and Genetic Parameters in Nepalese Finger Millet (Eleusine Coracana L. Gaertn) Landraces

Finger millet ( Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn ) is a climate-resilient cereal, recognized as a future smart crop for enhancing food and nutritional security. This study focuses on assessing the phenotypic diversity and genetic parameters of germplasms at the National Agricultural Genetic Resources Centre, Lalitpur, Nepal. 33 finger millet accessions, collected from 14 districts, were characterized under an augmented design with two replications. Twenty-one quantitative and six qualitative traits were recorded following the IBPGRI descriptor. Shannon-Weaver diversity indices showed high diversity (0.6–0.95) for all quantitative traits, whereas up to 0.98 for qualitative traits. Principal component analysis explained 43.78% of the variation in the first two components, resulting from phenological and leaf morphological traits, along with grain yield. Cluster analysis grouped accessions into four clusters based on 8 quantitative traits, suggesting broad genetic divergence. Estimates of genetic variability showed a higher phenotypic coefficient of variation for all traits than the genotypic coefficient of variation. Higher heritability with greater GAM was estimated for traits like finger length, phenological traits, and number of leaves per plant, indicating the influence of additive gene action and effective selection potential. Phenotypic path analysis identified flag leaf blade width, thousand seed weight, finger length, flag leaf blade length, and productive tillers as key traits associated with the grain yield. Accessions CO14422 and CO11943 were identified as early-maturing, while CO11696 and CO13039 exhibited superior yield potential. These findings provide valuable insights for selecting diverse and high-performing genotypes to enhance breeding programs for finger millet improvement in Nepal.