Vol. 11, Issue 1 (2022)

Author(s):
SM Masal, Dr. US Shinde, Dr. SS Dhumal, SS Survase and SL Raut

Abstract:
Thirty-five genotypes of cluster bean [Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub.] collected from various parts of Maharashtra and some other states of India and which were assessed for genetic divergence using Mahalanobis D² technique. The genetic material exhibited wide range of genetic divergence for all characters studied. All the genotypes were grouped into eight clusters. The cluster IV constituted maximum number of genotypes i.e. 11 followed by cluster II and III included 7 genotypes each, cluster I included 6 genotypes and rest of the clusters V, VI, VII and VIII constituted single genotype each that indicated wide divergence among the genotypes. The highest inter cluster distance was observed between cluster I and IV (D²= 29.86, D= 5.46) while lowest between cluster V and VI (D²= 10.35, D= 3.22). Highest intra cluster distance was found within cluster IV (D²= 12.18, D= 3.49) while being a solitary in nature no intra cluster distance observed within clusters V, VI, VII, and VIII (D²= 0.00). The maximum per cent contribution towards total divergence was recorded by number of primary branches per plant at 90 DAS (31.23%) while least contribution was represented by days to first harvest (0.34%). The clustering pattern revealed that genetic diversity was not parallel to the geographic distribution of the genotypes. A well-planned breeding programme in general has been suggested on the basis of inter cluster.