Abstract :
The nature and the magnitude of genetic divergence were estimated in 54 rice genotypes collected from Arunachal Pradesh and upper parts of Assam state using Mahalonobis’s D2 statistics. The analysis of variance revealed significant differences among the genotypes for nine quantitative characters studied. The genotypes were grouped into 18 clusters showing fair degree of relationship between geographic distribution and genetic divergence. All the minimum and maximum cluster mean values were distributed in relatively distant clusters. Maximum numbers of genotypes were included in cluster I which has 26 genotypes. Traits contributing maximum to genetic divergence viz., plant height, days to 50% flowering, 100 grain weight and leaf width may be utilized in selecting genetically diverse parents.
Keyword :
Oryza sativa, Rice, Germplasm, Variability, Yield components