MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF GENETIC DIVERGENCE IN WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM) GERMPLASM

Abstract

Sustainable production of food crops relies on germplasm improvement and genetic diversity. The use of multivariate techniques is an important strategy for germplasm classification and study of genetic relationships among genotypes. Wheat germplasm comprising of 50 genotypes contributed by CIMMYT was evaluated for seven quantitative traits through cluster and principal component analyses. The first three PCs with eigen values >1 contributed 70.59% of the variability amongst genotypes. The characters contributing more positively with PC1 were number of spikelets per spike, spike length and grain yield (gram per plot). The cluster analysis sequestrated 50 genotypes into 5 clusters based on Ward’s method. The cluster IV and V were more clearly separated than cluster I, II and III. The cluster analysis revealed that considerable variation existed among genotypes that could be implicated in selection of wheat for the development or improvement of cultivars and germplasm.