Genetic Diversity of French Bean (Bush Type) Genotypes in North-West Himalayas

A lot of variability is available in French bean in South American continent. To breed new and better cultivars, the breeder requires a comprehensive knowledge on variability existing at the germplasm hot spots. Fifty-one French bean (bush type) genotypes of different eco-geographical origin from India and abroad were grown in replicated plots under complete randomized block design to measure the extent of diversity for further use in breeding programmes. The data recorded on 14 characters were subjected to analysis of variance. By multivariate analysis (D² analysis), the genetic divergence among the genotypes was quantitatively measured. The total 51 genotypes were grouped into 8 clusters by this technique. There was no relationship between clustering pattern and geographical origin. Further, the effect of genetic divergence among different genotypes, which possessed differential expression in respect of specific agronomic traits, was also worked out. Introgression of these useful gene sources from diverse clusters may prove to be useful in gene pool maintenance and will be beneficial in designing appropriate breeding strategy in future French bean improvement.