Use of Linear Discriminant Function Analysis in Five Yield Sub-Characters Relationship Study in 134 Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) Accessions

Variations in five yield sub-characters of cowpea in 134 accessions were studied. Data were collected on number of pods per plant, pod length, pod width, peduncle length and 100-seed weight. Differences among the accessions were significant based on four of the five characters, namely pod length, pod width, peduncle length and 100-seed weight. K-means cluster analysis grouped the 134 accessions into four distinct groups. Pairwise Mahalanobis 2 distance (D) among some of the groups was highly significant. From the study the yield sub-characters pod length, pod width, peduncle length and 100-seed weight contributed most to group separation in the cowpea accessions.