Genetic diversity analysis in blackgram [Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper]

Abstract

A study was conducted focusing on assessing the level of variability represent among the hundred and two blackgram genotypes based on Mahalanobis’s D2 statistics for nine quantitative traits. Out of eighteen clusters, the maximum inter cluster distance was observed between cluster XVI and XV. Cluster XVIII had a low mean value for days to 50% flowering, cluster XIII had a high mean value for plant height, the number of primary branches per plant and cluster XVII recorded the highest number of pods per plant. High heritability coupled with high GAM was observed for plant height, the number of primary branches per plant, the number of clusters/plants, the number of seeds per pod, hundred seed weight, protein content, and single plant yield. From the association analysis single plant yield was positively and significantly associated with the number of clusters per plant and the number of pods per plant. Hence, simultaneous selection of the above traits would be more rewarding to bring genetic improvement in black gram breeding programmes.