Estimation of genetic diversity for yield related quantitative traits among genotypes of tomato [Solanum lycopersicon (Mill.) Wettsd.]

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with 46 genotypes of tomato to worked-out the genetic divergence using Mahalanobis’sD2 analysis during Rabi season 2014-15 at Main Experimental Station, Department of vegetable Science, N.D.U.A. & T., Kumarganj, Ayodhya. Based on the performance of different characters, all the genotypes were grouped into seven clusters. The maximum numbers of genotypes were accommodated in cluster VI. The maximum intra and inter cluster distance was found in cluster V (57.65) and between cluster II and VII (1109.44), respectively. On the basis of cluster mean of different characters studied, cluster II showed superiority in plant height, primary branches per plant, number of fruits per plant and T.S.S. (%), whereas cluster VII showed superiority in average fruit weight, fruit circumference, number of locules per fruit, fruit length and fruit yield per plant. The hybridization between cluster II and VII might give rise the different superior recombinants in segregating generations and as a consequence development of new promising genotypes through different breeding methods which may out yield a existing variety or may use as donor parent for improvement of other genotypes/varieties and also for the development of F1 hybrids.