International Journal of Innovative Horticulture

Senecio is one of the largest genus belonging to Asteraceae family having great variation and wider adaptability. There are more than 34 species of this particular genus distributed in India. Four Senecio species of northern parts of Western Ghats, using RAPD markers and measurements of seven morphological traits viz., plant height, plant spread, days to flowering, number of primary branches, number of secondary branches, number of leaves per plant, number of flowers per plant. PCR amplification with 12 random primers produced 228 bands, observed at 68 amplification loci; 30 percent of the amplified loci were polymorphic, with a mean of 5.6 polymorphic loci per primer. The similarity coefficient ranged from 32 to 39 among the four samples. The minimum genetic similarity has been observed for S. dalzelli and S.belgaumensis. Cluster analysis resulted in 2 major groups based on geographical distribution that generally reflected expected trends between the genotypes. No correlation was found between RAPD markers and the morphological traits. This study provides information useful for the identification, classification, phylogenies and breeding of Senecio species.