This document describes a study that evaluated 62 Ethiopian Arabica coffee accessions over 11 years to determine correlations between yield and yield-related traits. Significant differences were found among accessions for all measured traits, including plant height, number of primary branches, canopy diameter, and bean yield. Genotypic correlations were generally higher than phenotypic correlations. Number of primary branches, canopy diameter, number of main stem nodes, and main stem diameter showed positive genotypic and phenotypic correlations with yield. Path analysis identified plant height, canopy diameter, and length of first primary branch as having the largest positive direct effects on yield, suggesting selection based on these traits could improve bean yield in Arabica coffee. Traits like internode length and number of primary branches

1. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
IJPBCS
Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and
yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of
Arabica Coffee
Lemi Beksisa1
, Ashenafi Ayano2
, Tadesse Benti3
1*,2,3
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Jimma Agricultural Research Center, P.O.Box, 192, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is an important beverage crop in the world and provides significant
contribution to Ethiopian economy. Sixty two coffee accessions with two standard checks, F-59 and
744 were evaluated from 2001 to 2012 cropping seasons at Agaro, Southwestern Ethiopia using 8x8
simple lattice design. The correlation coefficients and path coefficient analysis was estimated to
determine the association among yield and yield related traits and direct and indirect effects of yield
related traits on yield. Significant (P<0.05) to highly significant (P<0.01) differences among
accessions were obtained for all characters. The genotypic correlation coefficients were higher in
magnitude than the corresponding phenotypic correlation coefficients for most of the characters.
Number of primary branch, canopy diameter, number of main stem nodes and main stem diameter
showed positive and significant genotypic and phenotypic correlation with yield, while plant height,
internode length and length of first primary branch had positive but non-significant correlation.
Height up to first primary branch had negative and showed non-significant correlation with yield.
Path analysis showed that plant height (1.564) made the largest positive direct effects towards yield
followed by canopy diameter (1.555) and length of first primary branch (0.052) indicating that
selection using these characters would be effective in improving bean yield in Arabica coffee.
Whereas, internode length (-1.860), number of primary branch (-1.802), height up to first primary
branch (-0.609), main stem diameter (-0.444) and number of main stem nodes (-0.232) exerted
negative effect on coffee yield. High indirect effects of the characters were noticed through number
of primary branch indicating importance of the character as selection criteria in crop yield
improvement programs.
Key words: Coffea arabica, Coffee Berry Disease, Correlation, Path analysis.
INTRODUCTION
Coffee belongs to the genus Coffea in the Rubiaceae
family. About124 species in this genus are known to be
predominantly grown in tropical and sub-tropical area of
the world (Davis et al., 2012).Arabica coffee (Coffea
arabica Linnaeus) is the only allotetraploid species
(2n=4x=44) (Lashermes et al., 1999), whereas the rest
are diploid and self-incompatible with the exception of
Coffea hetrocalyx and Coffea anthonyi (Nowak et al.,
2012). Coffea arabica Linnaeus and Coffea canephora
Pierre are the two most widely cultivated species in the
world.
*Corresponding Author: Lemi Beksisa, Ethiopian
Institute of Agricultural Research, Jimma Agricultural
Research Center, P.O.Box, 192, Jimma, Ethiopia. E:
mail: lbeksisa@gmail.com, Tel: +251910822464
International Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science
Vol. 4(2), pp. 178-186, April, 2017. © www.premierpublishers.org. ISSN: 2167-0449
Research Article

2. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
Beksisa et al. 179
Arabica coffee is an amphidiploid formed by hybridization
between Coffea eugeniodes and Coffea canephora, or
ecotypes related to these diploid species (Lashermes et
al., 1999).Arabica coffee is believed to have originated in
South Western montane rainforests of Ethiopia, the place
where it has its center of genetic diversity (Seyoum,
2003), while Robusta coffee originated from Central and
Western equatorial Africa (Ferwerda, 1976).Arabica
coffee (Coffea arabica Linnaeus) considered as a high
quality coffee and contributes more than 60% of the world
coffee production (Van der Vossen et al., 2015).Besides,
about 25 million families in 51 countries make a living
from it (Varangisetal et al., 2002).
In addition, Ethiopia is the largest producer of coffee in
Sub-Saharan Africa and is the fifth largest coffee
producer in the world next to Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia
and Indonesia, contributing about 7 to 10% of total world
coffee production (Gray et al., 2013). Being an important
beverage crop in the world, coffee has a significant
contribution to Ethiopia’s economy which provides about
30% of the foreign exchange earnings (International
Coffee organization, 2014). It is also important to the
Ethiopian economy as there are about 15 million people
whose livelihoods are directly or indirectly derived from
coffee (Gray et al., 2013).
The knowledge of certain genetic parameters is essential
for proper understanding and their manipulation in any
crop improvement program (Arshad et al., 2006).
Specifically, knowledge of correlation coefficient is
invaluable in selecting the breeding materials for
improving complex characters through indirect selection
(Teklewold et al., 2000). There are several reasons for
using indirect selection. Sometimes the main character is
expressed late or measurement of the indirect character
is much easier than for the direct character. As it is well
known, yield is complex character and is dependent on
many other morphological characters which are mostly
inherited quantitatively. Therefore, adequate knowledge
of association between yield and its contributing
characters has a great importance in plant breeding that
enables plant breeders to breed for high yielding
genotypes with desired combinations of characters (Khan
and Dar, 2010).
The simple correlation analysis could not fully explain the
relationship among the characters. Knowledge of
correlations, if accompanied by the understanding of the
path analysis (direct and indirect) of each component
character to the final makeup of the yield would be
effective in selecting the genotypes and using them in the
crop improvement programme. Path analysis helpsin
determining yield contributing characters and thus is
useful in indirect selection. Thus, correlation and the path
coefficient analysis would provide a true picture of
genetic association among different characters (Bhatt,
1973).
In Arabica coffee breeding programs, a lot of studies on
characters associations have been conducted elsewhere
but rarely in Ethiopian. For instance, Olika et al. (2011)
on 49 Limmu coffee accessions, Ermias (2005) on 81
West Welega coffee accessions, Yigzaw (2005) on 16
Northwest and Southwest of Ethiopia coffee accessions
have reported that characters such as number of primary
branch, stem girth, canopy diameter and plant height are
known to be related with and significantly influence yield
of Arabica coffee.
Yield is among the main criteria for selection in coffee
trees, which usually has biennial bearing nature probably
due to lack of appropriate agronomic management and is
influenced by different morphological characters (Ferrão
et al., 2008). Moreover, selections to improve yield
directly may be difficult and time consuming especially for
perennial tree crops with a long juvenile period such as
coffee (Yigzaw, 2005). Therefore, the quantification and
knowledge of the nature of the correlation between yield
and morphological characters can be useful in the
selection of coffee (Dhaliwal, 1968). However in Ethiopia,
despite the demands of consumers, greater socio-
economic benefits of coffee cultivation and huge
influence of other agronomic characters on coffee yield,
coffee breeding programs on the improvement of other
agronomic traits as well as the study on the nature of
associations among characters and the yield was limited.
Therefore, the present study was conducted to
investigate the interrelationship among quantitative
characters and path coefficient analysis of Limmu coffee
accessions for a more efficient planning of the coffee
improvement program.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Site Description
The experiment was conducted at Agaro Agricultural
Research Sub Center of the Jimma Agricultural Research
Center located at the South-Western part of Ethiopia. It is
45 km from Jimma and 397 km from the capital city of the
country, Addis Ababa. Agaro is located at a latitudinal
gradient of 7°50’35’’ – 7°51’00’’N and a longitudinal
gradient of 36°35’30’’E with an altitude of 1650 m above
sea level. The mean annual rainfall of the area is about
1616 mm with an average maximum and minimum air
temperatures of 28.4°C and 12.4°C respectively (Elias,
2005). The major soil type is Mollic Nitisols with pH 6.2,
7.07% organic matter, 0.42% nitrogen, 11.9 ppm
phosphorus and 39.40 cmol(+)/kg CEC (Zebene et al.,
2008).

3. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
Int. J. Plant Breeding Crop Sci. 180
Table: 1. Passport data of coffee accessions collected from Limmu coffee growing areas in 2001
Collection
districts
Farmers
Association
Local name of
accessions in the
area
Altitude range of
collected areas
(m.a.s.l)
Collections number/s
Limmu- Kossa Weleke -sombo Gajo 1550-1550 L01/2001, L03/2001, L04/2001
>> Debello >> 1720-1720 L06/2001,L07/2001
>> Suntu Dalecho 1530-1850 L12/2001, L13/2001, L14/2001, L15/2001,
L16/2001, L17/2001, L18/2001, L19/2001,
L20/2001, L23/2001
>> Dambi -gabena - 1725 L28/2001
>> Chakawo - 1720-1740 L29/2001, L30/2001
>> Mecha -dire - 1500 L32/2001, L33/2001, L34/2001
>> Charake Mi’aa 1650 L35/2001, L36/2001, L37/2001, L38/2001,
L39/2001, L40/2001
>> Tenabo >> 1620 L41/2001
>> Chime Kerenso 1660 L43/2001, L44/2001, L45/2001
>> Meto -Gundib
-
1725-1760 L46/2001, L47/2001, L48/2001, L49/2001,
L50/2001
>> Tenabo - 1620 L51/2001
>> Chime - 1660 L52/2001
>> Mecha- Dire Mi’aa 1500 L53/2001
>> Cheraki >> L54/2001, L55/2001
>> Yedo Gota L56/2001
>> Limmu- Kossa Dalecho 1540-1600 L65/2001, L66/2001, L67/2001, L68/2001,
L69/2001, L70/2001
Limmu-Seka Gujil
-
1600-1620 L24/2001, L25/2001, L26/2001, L27/2001
>> DegoJiru >> 1550 L57/2001, L58/2001, L59/2001, L60/2001,
L61/2001
>> Gejib Kerenso L62/2001, L63/2001, L64/2001
- - - - 744(Check)
- - - - F-59(Check)
Source: Extracted from passport data existing in Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC) coffee breeding department
Plant Materials
Sixty two accessions with two released
coffee berry disease (CBD) resistant varieties, F-59 and
744 as checks were included in this study (Table 1).
Implementation and Experimental Design
The trial was carried out from 2001 to 2012 cropping
seasons in 8x8 simple lattice design with two replications
and each replicate had border rows. The plot consisted of
two rows with four trees per row, while the spacing was
2mx2m between rows and plants. All field management
practices were done properly and timely as per the
recommendation for the area (EIAR/JARC, 1996; Endale
et al., 2008). Mean yield data from the last six years of
cropping seasons were used, while the other agronomic
characters were taken once throughout the experimental
period. Four plants were taken at random from each plot
for data collection on different agronomic characters,
whereas all plants per plot were considered for evaluation
of the accessions for yield.
Data and data management
Data were collected for the following quantitative
characters:
Height up to first primary (cm): The height from ground
level up to first primary branch was measured in cm.
Plant height (cm): Measured in cm from the ground level
to the tip of apical shoot using meter tape.
Number of primary branches: Total number of primary
branches was counted for each tree.
Main stem diameter (mm): The diameter of the main
stem was measured at 5 cm above the ground level
using digital caliper.

4. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
Beksisa et al. 181
Table 2. Analysis of variances (mean square) and relative efficiency for different morphological characters of sixty four Arabica Coffee Accessions
Treatment Error
Characters Replication Adjusted Unadjusted Blocks within rep(adj) Intra block RCBD CV% RE
Degree of freedom
1
63 63 14 49 63
Number of 1
st
primary branch
190.37*
63.63** 80.09 59.71 21.21 29.76 8.84 122.75
Canopy diameter 17555.87** 282.98** 309.85 262.99 126.03 156.47 6.73 111.27
Internodes length 0.97** 0.46** 0.55 0.22 0.13 0.15 5.71 105.55
Number of main stem nodes 88.44** 16.86** 21.27 15.34 4.19 6.67 7.55 136.97
Length of 1
st
primary branch
104.53
ns
148.14* 161.26 70.18 78.31 76.5 10.29
97.70
Height up to 1
st
primary branch
21.70
ns
32.72** 39.27 24.68 12.94 15.55 10.48
108.68
Stem diameter 0.06
ns
0.26** 0.35 0.23 0.08 0.11 7.23 123.71
Total plant height 7658.76** 762.48* 1168.90 1050.21 400.99 545.26 9.62 119.55
Yield 619634.95
ns
265669.46** 293666 195330 118739 135760 18.99 105.17
*, **, ns indicates significance at 0.05, 0.01 probability levels and none significance respectively, CV=Coefficient of variation, RCBD=Randomized
complete block design and RE= Relative efficiency
Canopy diameter (cm): The diameter of the trees was
measured in East-West and added to the South-North
diameter and divided by two.
Internodes length (cm): Computed as
(TH−HFPB )
(NN −1)
where,
TH=total height, HFPB=height up to first primary branch,
NN=number of nodes on main stem.
Numbers of main stem nodes: Number of nodes on
main stem counted.
Length of the 1
st
primary branch (cm): Length of first
longest primary branch measured from main stem to the
tip of the branch.
Yield (kg/ha): Fresh cherries were harvested from all
plants of the plot and converted to clean coffee bean
yield in kg per hectare.
Statistical Analysis
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
Statistical Analyses Software version 9.2 (SAS, 2008)
was used for statistical computations and estimation of
differences among accessions.
Estimation of Correlation coefficients
Genotypic coefficient of correlation (rg) and phenotypic
coefficient of correlation (rp) were computed according to
(Miller et al., 1958).
𝐫𝐠 =
𝐠𝐱𝐲
 𝟐
𝐠𝐱.  𝟐
𝐠𝐲
Where, σgxy is genotypic covariance between characters
x and y; 
2
gxis genotypic variance of character x; 
2
gyis
genotypic variance of character y.
𝐫𝐩 =
𝐩𝐱𝐲
 𝟐
𝐩𝐱 .  𝟐
𝐩𝐲
Where, σpxy is phenotypic covariance between characters
x and y; 
2
px is phenotypic variance of character x; 
2
py
is phenotypic variance of character y.
Statistically significance of genotypic and phenotypic
correlation coefficients was determined by using “t” test
as described by (Steel and Torrie, 1980).
Path coefficient analysis
Path coefficient analysis was computed following the
method of (Dewey and Lu, 1959)
Rij=Pij+ Σrikpkj
rij = Mutual association between the independent
character (i) and dependent character(j) as measured by
the correlation coefficient.
Pij = Component of direct effects of the independent
character (i) and dependent character (j) as measured by
the path coefficient and, Σrikpkj= Summation of
components of indirect effect of a given independent
character (i) on the given independent character (j) via all
other independent character (k).
Estimation of residual effect
𝟏 − 𝐑 𝟐
Where: R
2
= Σpij. rij
pij = Component of direct effects of the independent
character (i) and dependent character (j) as measured by
the path coefficient.
rij = Mutual association between the independent
character (i) and dependent character (j) as measured by
the correlation coefficient.

5. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
Int. J. Plant Breeding Crop Sci. 182
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Simple lattice design was more efficient than
Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) for almost
all characters (Table 2). Therefore, the use of simple
lattice design was justified. The analysis of variance
revealed highly significance differences between
accessions for most of the characters investigated (Table
2). This indicates the presence of considerable diversity
among accessions which indicates immense opportunity
for an effective selection and hybridization program. This
is in agreement with Mesfin and Bayetta (2005) and
Getachew et al. (2013) who also reported the presence of
significant difference between Arabica Coffee accessions
for different characters.
Genotypic and phenotypic correlation coefficients
Genotypic and phenotypic correlations between yield and
most of yield related characters were positive and
significant (Table 3). In general, genotypic correlation
coefficients were higher in magnitude than the
corresponding phenotypic correlation coefficients for
almost all of the characters, indicating that there is a
strong inherent association between the characters
studied.
Coffee yield had positive genotypic and phenotypic
correlations coefficients levels with all characters except
height up to first primary branch. Among the characters
studied, the correlation was statistically significant with
number of primary branch, canopy diameter, number of
main stem nodes and main stem diameter, indicating
greater importance and reliability of these characters for
selection for improvement of yield in coffee. As one of
these characters is improved, an enhancement or
improvement of coffee yield is also achieved. Thus, the
breeders should mainly be focused over these characters
while planning for selection program of crop
improvement. This finding is partly in agreement with
(Yigzaw, 2005 and Olika et al., 2011) whose reported
positive and significant correlation of most of the
quantitative characters with yield. Srinivasan (1980)
reported high positive correlation of stem girth and length
of primary branches with yield. Similarly, Walyaro and
Van der Vossen (1979) also reported significant and
positive genotypic correlations between yield and girth at
the base of the main stem. Walyaro (1983) and Marandu
et al. (2004) also reported that coffee yield is influenced
by most important characters like number of primary
branches, canopy diameter, plant height and main stem
diameter.
On the other hand, yield showed positive but statistically
non-significant correlation with plant height, internode
length and length of first primary branch. This indicated
indirect selection based on any of these characters
studied would not provide satisfactory gains for coffee
yield. The interrelationship of the characters may be due
to the genotype or environment influence in different
ways, thus making the selection and the improvement
programs become unreliable. Similarly, Ermias (2005)
also reported weak and non-significant correlation of
internode length with average yield. In this study, yield
was significantly and negatively correlated with only
height up to first primary branch for both genotypic and
phenotypic levels. This implied that through shortness in
height up to first primary branch, high yield of coffee
accessions could be achieved in efforts of variety
development in selection program. Therefore, it is
suggested that independent selection may have to be
carried out for improvement of each character.
In addition, canopy diameter, plant height and main stem
diameter showed significant positive correlation with most
of the characters. In this case, the breeding implication is
that selection of one of the characters will implicitly result
in the improvement of the other characters. In studies of
genetic divergence and the processes of evaluation and
selection, it is important to maintain traits that are
correlated with the majority of traits (Ferrão et al., 2008).
On the other hand, number of primary branch showed
positive and highly significant correlation with canopy
diameter, number of main stem nodes and plant height.
The result indicated that, the greater the number of the
first primary branches, the larger will be the canopy
diameter and plant height and thus ultimately contributing
directly and positively towards the yield. Similar results
were reported by Olika et al. (2011) in Arabica coffee and
Marandu et al. (2004) in Robusta coffee. Likewise,
correlation of canopy diameter with internode length,
number of main stems node, plant height, main stem
diameter and yield was positive and significant.
In this study, interestingly most of the characters which
were negatively correlated with each other at both
genotypic and phenotypic correlations coefficients did not
significantly affect each other except, selection for
internode length could negatively affect the improvement
of number of primary branch and number of main stem
nodes as these characters showed negative and
significant correlation both at genotypic and phenotypic
correlation coefficients. This implied that, the selection for
any one of these characters is not likely to result in
improvement of the others. In such a situation, it is
suggested that independent selection may have to be
carried for improvement of each character.
Path coefficient analysis
The main selection criterion in coffee is production
(Oliveira et al., 2011). Other agronomic characters

6. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
Beksisa et al. 183
Table 3. Genotypic (above diagonal) and phenotype (below diagonal) correlation coefficient among 9characters
in 64 Arabica coffee
NFPB CD INL NMSN LFPB PH HuFPB MSD YLD
NFPB
1
0.506** -0.420** 0.989** -0.245
ns
0.532** -0.214
ns
0.722** 0.494**
CD
0.429**
1 0.434** 0.520** 0.317* 0.567** 0.156
ns
0.620** 0.602**
INL
-0.212
ns
0.297** 1 -0.428** 0.048
ns
0.393** 0.518** 0.113
ns
0.168
ns
NMSN
0.972**
0.402** -0.266* 1 -0.182
ns
0.488** -0.192
ns
0.721** 0.408**
LFPB
0.027
ns
0.184
ns
0.061
ns
0.011
ns
1 -0.196
ns
0.228
ns
0.290* 0.244
ns
PH 0.652** 0.456** 0.329** 0.629** 0.044
ns
1 0.386** 0.800** 0.043
ns
HuFPB
-0.074
ns
0.197
ns
0.189
ns
-0.087
ns
0.159
ns
0.202
ns
1 0.043
ns
-0.063
ns
MSD
0.596**
0.570** 0.121
ns
0.579** 0.236** 0.605** 0.149
ns
1 0.580**
YLD
0.379**
0.288
**
0.119
ns
0.322* 0.104
ns
0.347** -0.075
ns
0.323* 1
PH= Plant height, HuFPB= height up to first primary branch, MSD = main Stem diameter, LFPB= average length of
primary branches, NFPB= number of primary branches, NMSN= number of main stem nodes, INL= Inter node length,
CD= canopy diameter, YLD= Yield.
Table 4. Pathanalysis(effects of characters on yield)
Characters NFPB CD INL NMSN LFPB PH HuFPB MSD Ind.Eff rg
NFPB -1.802 0.787 0.782 -0.234 -0.013 1.164 0.130 -0.321 2.295 0.494
CD -0.912 1.555 -0.808 -0.120 0.017 1.240 -0.095 -0.275 0.953 0.602
INL 0.758 0.675 -1.860 0.099 0.002 0.859 -0.315 -0.050 2.028 0.168
NMSN -1.822 0.810 0.797 -0.232 -0.010 1.068 0.117 -0.320 0.640 0.408
LFPB 0.442 0.493 -0.089 0.042 0.052 -0.429 -0.139 -0.129 0.191 0.244
PH -0.959 0.882 -0.731 -0.113 -0.010 1.564 -0.235 -0.355 -1.521 0.043
HuFPB 0.386 0.242 -0.963 0.044 0.012 0.844 -0.609 -0.019 0.546 -0.063
MSD -1.302 0.964 -0.210 -0.167 0.015 1.750 -0.026 -0.444 1.024 0.580
Residual Effect= 0.3343039
TPH= plant height, HuFPB= height up to first primary branch, MSD = Main Stem diameter, LFPB= average length of primary
branches, NFPB= number of primary branches, NMSN= number of main stem nodes, IL= Inter node length, CD= canopy
diameter
related to yield potential have been studied to increase
the indirect selection efficiency (Petek et al., 2008; Pinto
et al., 2012). In this study, the positive direct effect on
coffee yield was exerted by plant height (1.564), canopy
diameter (1.555) and length of first primary branch
(0.052). This indicates that, with other characters kept
constant, direct selection on the basis of canopy
diameter, length of first primary branch and plant height
would be much effective for the improvement of coffee
yield. This is usually happens and they are well known as
the most important characters that influence the coffee
yield directly. Ermias (2005) also revealed positive direct
effect of plant height but negative direct effects of canopy
diameter and length of primary branch on yield.
Moreover, Srinivasan (1980) reported that greater weight
should be given for longer primaries and shorter inter
nodes in selection for yield, as they had direct positive
effects.
However, in this study, even though the length of first
primary branch was positively exerted in coffee yield,
positive indirect effects of length of first primary branch
through number of primary branch and canopy diameter
were higher than its positive direct effect. In this case, the
indirect selection of this character via number of primary
branch and canopy diameter will be more beneficial for
crop improvement.
On the other hand, internode length (-1.860), number of
primary branch (-1.802), height up to first primary branch
(-0.609), main stem diameter (-0.444) and number of

7. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
Int. J. Plant Breeding Crop Sci. 184
main stem nodes (-0.232) which had positive genotypic
and phenotypic correlation coefficient with yield except
height up to first primary branch exerted negative effect
on yield. The miss match between correlation coefficient
and direct effects indicated that, the strong correlation of
these characters with yield was largely due to their
indirect effects through the other characters. For
instance, number of primary branch had positive indirect
effect via canopy diameter, internode length, plant height
and height up to first primary branch and the indirect
effect of this character via the other characters was
cumulatively 2.295 which was higher than that of direct
effect (-1.802). Therefore, the strong coefficient of
correlation of this character with yield was due to
masking effects of the positive indirect effects via the
other characters on negative direct effect. In this case,
the improvement of the bean yield can be achieved by
indirect selection via other characters.
Among the characters studied, the positive highest direct
effect on coffee yield was exerted by plant height (1.564)
and canopy diameter (1.555). Internode length (-1.860)
and number of primary branches (-1.802) also exerted
high negative effects on yield. In the contrary, length of
first primary branch (0.052) followed by number of main
stem nodes (-0.232) showed the lowest direct effects on
yield. However, the encountered indirect effect of number
of main stem nodes via plant height (1.068) was relatively
high.
Similarly, internode length revealed positive indirect effect
on yield through almost all characters, except height up
to first primary branch and main stem diameter. Number
of main stem node also indirectly exerted positive effects
on yield via all characters except number of primary
branch, length of first primary branch and main stem
diameter. Main stem diameter indirectly exerted positive
effects via canopy diameter, length of first primary branch
and plant height. Either direct or indirect selection of main
stem diameter will not be made beneficial for increasing
coffee yield due to its direct and indirect effects on yield.
Moreover, internodes length which had positive
correlation coefficients with yield and height up to first
primary branch which had negative correlation coefficient
with yield but not significantly also revealed negative
direct effect on yield. Therefore, the direct selection for
these characters to improve the yield will not be
desirable. Ermias (2005) also reported negative direct
effects of height up to first primary branch on yield but
contrary to this finding; there was positive indirect effect
of internode length on yield. In general, high indirect
effects of most of the characters were noticed through
number of primary branch indicating importance of the
character as selection criteria in crop yield improvement
programs.
The residual effect permits precise explanation about the
pattern of interaction of other possible components of
yield. In other words, residual effect measures the role of
other independent variables which were not included in
the study on the dependent variable. In this study, the
estimated residual effect was 0.33 indicating that about
67% of the variability in yield was contributed by the
characters studied in path analysis. This residual effect
towards yield in this study might be mainly due to the
other characters which are not included in the
investigation, environmental factor and sampling errors.
Therefore, the aspect of intensive germplasm exploration
in the Limmu coffee considering additional characters
was suggested in order to confirm the results. In general,
the path analysis carried out in the present study
revealed that the main components of bean yield which
had positive direct effect of bean yield should be given
high priority for making selection for high yielding
accessions in Limmu coffee.
CONCLUSION
Genotypic associations are higher than phenotypic
associations, demonstrating a greater influence of
genetic than that of environmental factors. Characters
like, number of primary branch, canopy diameter, number
of main stem nodes and main stem diameter had positive
and significant correlation with yield, which indicates the
selection of these characters would give better response
in yield. However, height up to first primary branch alone
showed negative and non-significant significant genotypic
and phenotypic correlation with yield. This means
simultaneous selection for the character might negatively
affect the improvement of coffee yield. Moreover, path
analysis indicated that greater weight should be given to
accessions having larger canopy diameter, longer plant
height and longer of first primary branches in selection for
yield, as shown by their positive direct effects. High
indirect effects of the characters were noticed through
number of primary branch indicating importance of the
character also as selection criteria in crop yield
improvement programs. Hence, based on correlation and
path analysis, the characters viz., canopy diameter, plant
height, number of primary branch and length of first
primary branch influenced coffee yield directly and/or
indirectly. Therefore, it is clearly understood that, this
study showed coffee breeders to restrict selections for
coffee improvement emphasizing to a few number of
component characters. This can be helpful in minimizing
the time required to search for more component
characters and improve the efficiency of the breeding
program.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Authors are thankful to their colleagues specially Jimma
Coffee project staff members for their collaborative work
during the experiment execution and data collection.
They are also thankful to Agaro Agricultural Research

8. Correlation and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica Coffee
Beksisa et al. 185
Sub Center staff for maintaining experimental fields and
helping in data recording.
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Citation: Beksisa L, Ayano A, Benti T (2017). Correlation
and path coefficient analysis for yield and yield
components in some Ethiopian accessions of Arabica
Coffee. International Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop
Science, 4(2): 178-186.
Copyright: © 2017 Beksisa et al. This is an open-access
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