Studies on Genetic diversity in Greengram (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) for seed yield characters

Abstract

Forty genotypes of greengram used to study the nature and magnitude of genetic divergence using Mahalanobis’s D2 Statistics. The data for twelve important quantitative characters recorded from the genotypes raised in Randomized Block Design having three replications. Pods per plant had maximum phenotypic and genotypic Coefficient of Variation (PCV and GCV), followed by clusters per plant. High heritability (broad sense) was recorded for plant height. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for plant height and biological yield per suggesting that, the role of additive gene effect and possibilities of achieving high genetic progress through selection. Forty greengram genotypes were grouped into seven clusters. Cluster I and cluster VII were large with nine genotypes each. Maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster VI and VII, suggesting that the genetic architecture of the genotypes in one cluster differ entirely from those included in other clusters. Three characters viz., seed yield per plant (g), days to 50% flowering, and plant height (cm) contributed maximum in manifestation of genetic diversity.