Genetic Divergence in Snowball Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)

The genetic divergence analysis using Mahalanobis D² statistics was carried out in 52 snowball cauliflower germplasm including 3 superior CMS (Ogura) lines based on 12 quantitative characters. These 52 germplasm lines were grouped in 10 clusters, of which cluster IX accommodates 13 genotypes, while cluster VII was solitary. Morphological characterization for curd colour and compactness, leaf colour and plant types was also performed for all the lines. The snowball cauliflower lines under present investigation showed little deviation from original snowball group for plant type and their adaptability. High inter-cluster distance indicated considerable amount of diversity in the present population. Cluster I, II and VIII were important because they had high yield potential. First two clusters also accommodate 3 CMS lines (Ogu1A, Ogu 2A and Ogu 3A). These CMS lines would be immensely useful in heterosis breeding after crossing with divergent genotypes based on cluster distance.