Assessment of genetic diversity for quantitative traits in sunflower germplasm
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Abstract
Evaluating genetic diversity in germplasm resources is a prerequisite for any effective breeding program. In this context, an investigation was carried out for analyzing genetic diversity in a set of 18 sunflower lines, which were grown at Oilseeds Section, Agriculture Research Institute, Tandojam, Sindh, Pakistan. Results demonstrated that mean squares were highly significantly different (P< 0.01) for days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, head diameter, seeds head-1, seed index and grain yield plant-1. It represents that studied sunflower germplasm tend to have useful genetic resources for further breeding programs. In respect to genetic distance, a number of pairs were identified, which possess wide as well as narrow genetic distance; hence these pairs may be utilized for heterosis and backcross breeding purpose, respectively. Principal component analysis depicted that first three components showed a very high percentage of genetic variance (91.60%), indicating a great amount of genetic diversity in studied germplasm. Considering cluster analysis, diverse parents have also been identified through different clusters, signifying their importance for upcoming hybridization programs in sunflower.
Keywords: Genetic diversity; Sunflower; Cluster analysis; Quantitative traits