1SGRR (PG) College, Pathri Bagh, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
2SBS PG Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Research, Balawala, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
3College of Agriculture, GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, US Nagar, Uttarakhand
*Author for Correspondence: E-mail: deepti_prabha@rediffmail.com
Online published on 21 July, 2012.
Present study was conducted to access genetic diversity among 33 accessions of two cultivated species of barnyard millet i.e., Echinochloa crus-galli (15 accessions) and E. frumentacea (18 accessions). Though crop possesses great nutritional value, little attention has been paid for the improvement of this crop. We assessed genetic diversity on the basis of morphological and RAPD analysis. Morphological analysis suggested that EC-545 is superior for grain yield, whereas VRS-MB-1202 and VRS-MB-889 were found to be good for fodder yield. On the other hand, RAPD primers were able to segregate the accessions in two groups at a similarity level of 34% with clear demarcation of inter and intra species diversity. The data would be important in detailing the level of variation and relationship within and between species to plan future domestication trials and to manage the wild species collection that is available in the gene banks.
Barnyard millet, Genetic diversity, RAPD
