Genetic variability and divergence analysis in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.)

Twenty one sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars were used to study genetic variability and diversity using Mahananobis D² statistics. Most of the traits showed low to moderate heritability, while only four traits viz., fruit length, TSS, annual extension growth and trunk girth showed high heritability of 71, 68, 65 and 74%, respectively. The grouping of genotypes using Tocher's method revealed that these cultivars grouped into six clusters, with Cluster-I having maximum number of genotypes (9) followed by 8 in Cluster-II. Whereas, rest of the clusters were monogenotypic with one cultivar each. Cluster-II had the maximum intra-cluster distance, while inter-cluster distance was highest between Cluster-III and VI. Maximum contribution towards divergence came from trunk girth (19.52%), while minimum from fruit diameter (1.43). Cluster means indicated that none of the clusters were superior for all the characters studied. Therefore, hybridization between genotypes belonging to different clusters is suggested for development of superior genotypes.