Genetic divergence in castor [Ricinus communis(L.)]
S. B. Dhutraj
Corresponding author
V. M. Dhembre, G. G. Sidhapure, and S. B. S. Tikka
Abstract
Mahalanobis D² statistics analysis was employed to measure the genetic divergence of 34 genotypes of castor. Six different clusters were formed with a wide range of inter-cluster distances (17.17 to 331.75), suggesting considerable diversity among the genotypes. The clustering pattern indicated that geographical distribution could not be taken as the sole criterion of genetic diversity. The D² analysis revealed that harvest index, oil content, number of capsules/plant, and seed yield/plant contributed maximum towards genetic divergence. It was suggested that the genotypes separated by higher statistical distance could be utilized in hybrid breeding programmes as well as for obtaining a wide spectrum of variation among the segregates.