Genetic divergence studies in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

A study was conducted using twenty two genotypes of tomato under AICRP on Vegetable Crops, Department of Vegetable Science at Horticultural Research and Instructional Farm, IGKV, Raipur (C.G.) during 2016 - 2017. Genetic divergence analysis following Mahalanobis D2 statistics revealed considerable genetic diversity among twenty two genotypes of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) for all the eighteen quantitative characters. A wide genetic diversity was observed among the genotypes and was grouped into five clusters. Cluster I topped with maximum number of genotypes among cluster fanned, while maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster I and II followed by cluster II and IV. Number of locules per fruit contributed maximum towards diversity followed by average fruit weight, fruit yield per plant. Hence, selection for divergent parents based on these cluster distance is recommended for getting good hybrids or segregants in tomato.