Vol. 11, Issue 1 (2022)

Author(s):
Vandna, KD Ameta, Partha Pratim Behera, Roopali Patel, Pooja Kumari and Sheetal Rawat

Abstract:
An assessment of genetic diversity was made based on the data recorded for twenty-two tuber yield and quality contributing characters in thirty greater yam genotypes using Mahalanobis’s D² statistics. The greater yam genotypes were characterised based on morphological and bio-chemical characters and clustered into five groups. Cluster I was the largest one, with 26 genotypes, and the rest of the clusters contained one genotype each. There was considerable variability among the genotypes for most of the characters. The inter-cluster distance was the minimum between clusters I and II, while the maximum inter-cluster distance was recorded between clusters III and V, suggesting the highest genetic divergence existing between the genotypes of these clusters. The cluster mean for both the tuber yield and quality is the highest in cluster V and the lowest in cluster III. The weight of the tuber (kg), followed by TSS (°B), diameter of tuber (cm), stem girth (cm), ascorbic acid (mg), vine length at harvest (cm) and tuber yield per vine (kg) contributed the most to the total diversity. The hybridization between genotypes MPY-5 (cluster III) x Sree Kartika (cluster V) could be suggested for transgressive breeding and also be used to develop mapping populations. These mapping populations could be further utilised in marker assisted breeding and other advanced molecular breeding for tuber yield and quality improvement.