Study of genetic divergence in Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.)

Abstract

An assessment of the genetic diversity present in twenty genotypes of Vigna mungo under irrigated and rainfed growing conditions was undertaken during Kharif 2020 at the Research Farm, SKUAST-J, Chatha; the Arid Centre for Rainfed Agriculture, Rakhdhiansar; and the Pulses Research Sub-Station, Samba. The presence of significant genetic variation was defined by analysis of variance among genotypes. Genotypes were categorised into five clusters for thirteen morpho-physiological traits based on D2 values. As indicated by the fact that intra-cluster distances were smaller than inter-cluster distances, the genotypes included within a cluster had a propensity to differ from one another less than those found across clusters. As shown by the clustering pattern, there was no correlation between geographic diversity and genetic diversity. The inter cluster values varied from a range of 75.52 to 208.22. Eight genotypes are found in the largest number in cluster III, followed by five genotypes in cluster V, three genotypes in cluster IV and two genotypes in each of clusters I and II. For many of the characteristics evaluated, the clusters II and III had high mean values. Clusters III and IV were the best clusters with respect to grain yield per plant. The two closest clusters were I and II, while clusters II and III were the farthest away. It is proposed that crosses be undertaken between the genotypes of these clusters to increase crop yield potential and improve key economic traits in order to generate high yielding cultivars in future breeding programmes.