Twenty-three accessions of garlic (Allium sativum L.) collected from five diverse agro-dimatic regions of India differing for various agro-morphological traits were analysed for isozyme polymorphism. Esterase, superoxide dismutase and catalase were the enzymes studied. Esterase and superoxide dismutase showed polymorphism to some extent. However, catalase was observed to be monomorphic. The study indicated that there was less genetic diversity among the garlic germplasm analysed. Broader groupings of the accessions was possible even though the enzyme systems studied were not ideal for ‘fingerprinting’ of germplasm. The implications of the findings with reference to genetic diversity in garlic germplasm and the usefulness of the isozyme technique for germplasm characterisation has been discussed.
