Genetic variability and divergence analyses in Jatropha curcas based on floral and yield traits

Abstract

Genetic variability of 80 accessions of Jatropha curcas showed that oil content varied between 20.8-36.1% (X=26.2±0.38). Thirty seven accessions showed seed weight/plant above average mean value (180.2g) and 26 accessions showed oil content above average mean (26.2%). The hierarchical clustering grouped all the accessions into 4 clusters. Clustering showed that majority of accessions i.e. 56 (70%) were genetically close to each other and grouped in two clusters. The maximum intra cluster distance was recorded in cluster IV (30.15). The inter cluster distance varied from 47.59 (between cluster I and cluster II) to 211.27 (between cluster III and cluster I). The cluster III showed maximum genetic distance with cluster I, followed by cluster IV and cluster II suggesting comparatively wider genetic diversity among them. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed that first four principal components (PCs) accounted for more than 93% of the total variation. The first principal components accounted for 42.5% of the total variation mainly due to seed length, seed width, seed weight/plant and number of seeds/plant which had maximum and positive weight on this component. Oil content had negative weight on PC1. Thus, PC1 related to the accessions with thick seeds, moderate to high seed yielder with low oil content.