Genetic diversity of pomegranate genotypes for important horticultural traits

In the present study, genetic relatedness based on 12 phenotypic traits was accessed among 60 pomegranate genotypes which represented 20 indigenous and 40 exotic types. Per se performance was measured for different traits like plant height, number of branches, thorn length, rind thickness, fruit weight, fruit length and fruit breath, etc. The phenotypic correlation coefficients were found higher in magnitude than genotypic correlation coefficients. Using principal component analysis, the first principal component (PC1) explained 28.73% of the total variance that mainly consisted of fruit breadth, fruit length and fruit weight predominantly while, PC2 explained 21.28% variability that mainly included plant height and number of branches and fruit length upto some extent. Further, PC3 and PC4 showed remaining 15.16% and 11.48%, respectively for traits like, thorn length, number of stem and rind thickness. Phylogenetic tree constructed on the basis of phenotypic characteristics by applying Squared Euclidean Distance and group average clustering method showed two diverse groups but partially divided the genotypes on the basis of their type into two major groups or clusters. The present results could be further utilized for screening parents for a particular trait in future breeding programs.