<p>The Dolichos bean (<i>Lablab purpureus</i> L.) is an underutilized legume with potential to enhance food security and nutrition in tropical and subtropical regions. However, its cultivation is limited by challenges such as photosensitivity, low productivity, and diverse consumer preferences. This study evaluated 126 Dolichos beans for two seasons to explore their genetic diversity and identify characters that could improve yield, consumer preference, and resistance. Morphological evaluations, correlation, cluster analysis, and principal component analysis (PCA) revealed moderate to high diversity and significant variability in characters like flowering, plant height, pod yield, and seed characteristics. Cluster analysis grouped accessions into five clusters, with Cluster II showing the highest seed yield. Pod- related characters, including the number of pods per plant and pod yield per plant, and other characters such as the number of flowers per inflorescence, number of primary branches, and plant height, were strongly associated with increased seed yield. Key genotypes, including early-flowering and high-yielding accessions, were identified for breeding. The study also found that darker seeds had higher levels of tannins and phenols, linked to pest resistance, but lower consumer preference compared with other various dry seed colours of dolichos bean. These findings provide valuable insights for breeding programs focused on developing high-yielding, resilient, and nutritionally superior Dolichos bean cultivars, balancing productivity with consumer acceptability.</p>