Central Tobacco Research Institute, Rajahmundry-1, A.P.
*Paper presented at the 56th session of the Indian Science Congress held at Bombay (Jan. 1969).
Eleven burley tobacco varieties were assessed for their genetic diversity by multivariate analysis using D2 statistic. The characters considered for this study were flowering time, plant height, number of economic leaves, green leaf yield and cured leaf yield.
The 11 varieties fall into 6 clusters revealing considerable genetic divergence among them. The varieties Harrow Velvet, Ky-58, Aurelius and White Burley showed significant divergence from all the other varieties and hence each formed a different cluster.
The varieties Bolsunovwik, Burley-1, Harmony and Ky-16 of cluster I and Ky-58 of cluster IV are real potential yielders having all desirable characters and these can be utilised as donors for improving the other varieties.
The grouping of the varieties into different clusters and the prospects for future breeding work are discussed.
