Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Multivariate Analysis of Genetic Divergence among Castor (Ricinus communis L.) Inbreds Using Mahalanobis D² Statistic | Chapter 9 | Agricultural Sciences: Techniques and Innovations Vol. 4

 

Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is an oilseed crop that offers a wide range of industrial applications. Assessing genetic variation is crucial for identifying genetically distinct individuals and plays a vital role in plant breeding programs for developing improved cultivars adapted to varying environmental conditions. The aim of this study is to evaluate the genetic diversity among different inbred lines of castor. The investigation was carried out during kharif, 2024, at the Agricultural Research Station, Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh, India. Using the Mahalanobis D2 Statistics, 40 castor inbred lines were examined to determine the extent of genetic diversity for 12 traits. According to Tocher's technique, the total genetic resource set was divided into six unique, non-overlapping clusters, indicating the presence of an ample amount of genetic diversity. Cluster I was the largest one, comprising 32 genotypes, followed by cluster II with three genotypes, and cluster V with two genotypes. Whereas clusters III, IV, and VI were monotypic, indicating a high degree of heterogeneity among the lines. Clusters   IV and VI had the greatest inter-cluster distance between them, showing that these genetic resources could be used in inter-varietal hybridisation. The trait with the highest contribution to overall divergence was effective primary spike length followed by number of capsules per primary spike, total seed yield, final plant stand, and 100 seed weight, demonstrating the potential of the material for further improvement through those traits.

 

 

Author(s) Details

I. K. CHANDANA
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati-517 502, A.P, India.

 

A.V.S DURGA PRASAD
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, SMGR Agricultural College, Udayagiri-524 226, A.P, India.

 

M. REDDI SEKHAR
Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, SMGR Agricultural College, Udayagiri-524 226, A.P, India.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/asti/v4/6300

No comments:

Post a Comment