Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a major staple crop and a primary food source for a large proportion of the global population. Market acceptance of rice is governed by yield components and grain quality attributes. Assessment of genetic diversity and trait interrelationships supports effective selection in breeding programs. The present investigation was undertaken with 28 rice genotypes to estimate the nature and magnitude of genetic diversity for 22 agro-morphological, yield and quality traits. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design (RBD) with 2 replications and observations were recorded. D² statistics revealed substantial inter-cluster divergence with 4 distinct clusters identified, with the maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster I and II, while the minimum inter-cluster distance was recorded between cluster I and III. Cluster IV exhibited the highest intra-cluster distance, comprising 10 genotypes followed by cluster II with 6 genotypes. Genotypes from the most divergent groups, cluster I (HUR-105 NDR-359, Sarjoo-52) and cluster II (HUR-1304, BB 11, Syamjeera and Dhaniya) were identified as potential parents for future hybridisation program. Traits including thousand seed weight, kernel length before cooking and spikelet fertility percent contributed most to total genetic divergence. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that first 7 principal components with eigenvalues more than 1 accounted for 80.80 % of total cumulative variability, with thousand seed weight, spikelet fertility percent and kernel length before cooking emerging as major contributors. NDR-359, HUR-105, HUR-917 and Sampurna can be targeted as parents as they are diverse in nature as indicated by PCA biplot. The results demonstrate substantial phenotypic divergence among genotypes and support their strategic use in rice improvement programs.
Suman et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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