Table 14 Trait name and description of their measurement and calculation

Expt. 1

Plant height (PH, cm), the average height of the two individuals per pot from cotyledonary node to the main stem top. Leaf area index (LAI), total leaf area per unit ground area, and leaf area was measured with a leaf area meter (LI-3100C, LI-COR, Lincoln, NE, USA). Shoot biomass (SB, g plant⁻¹) and root biomass (RB, g plant⁻¹), the average of above ground dry weight and that of root dry weight of the two plants per pot after drying to constant weight at 80 °C in a drying oven, respectively. Root/shoot ratio (R/S), calculated as root dry weight/shoot dry weight; Total root length (TRL, m), root surface area (RSA, cm²), root average diameter (RD, mm) and root volume (RV, cm³), calculated on the average of two individuals per pot and measured using WinRHIZO (EPSON 1680, WinRHIZO Pro2003b, Regent Instruments Inc., Quebec, Canada). Root length ratio (RLR, m/g), total root length/total biomass. Root surface area ratio (RSR, cm²/g), root surface area/total biomass; Root volume ratio (RVR, cm³/g), root volume/total biomass; root average diameter ratio (RDR, mm/g), root diameter/total biomass; root biomass ratio (RBR), root biomass/total biomass.

Expt. 2

Plant height (PH, cm), the average height of the two individuals per pot from cotyledonary node to the main stem top. Main stem node number (MSNN), Pods per plant (PPP) and Seeds per plant (SPP), measured on the average of 2 plants in the pot at maturity; Hundred seeds weight (HSW, g), calculated the weight of 100 seeds; Yield per plant (YPP, g plant⁻¹), the average yield of the two individuals per pot. Root biomass (RB, g plant^− 1), Stem biomass (STB, g plant^− 1) and Pod biomass (PB, g plant^− 1), measured on the average of 2 plants which were separated into bean, root, stem and pod determined after drying, respectively.

Expt. 3

Plant height (PH, cm), First pod height (FPH, cm), Main stem node number (MSNN) and Branches (BR), were estimated in 5 plants per plot.