Crop Improvement Division, Indian Grassland & Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003 (Madhya Pradesh).
One hundred forty one germplasm lines of Panicum maximum collected from South and North-Eastern Hill region of India were evaluated for yield and six morphological traits. Variability was studied in terms of range, frequency distribution and coefficient of variation (CV). The pattern of frequency distribution varied from asymmetrical unimodal for plant height to unimodal symmetrical type for length of the panicle. However, amodal trend was observed in case of leaf length. With respect to coefficient of variability, it varied from 9.45% for leaf sheath to 48.65% for fresh weight. Range of variation was of the highest order in case of plant height (97.5 to 230.0 cm) followed by leaf length (16.4 to 77.3 cm) and panicle length (19 to 53.5 cm). The extent of variability present in the genetic material under study indicates the possibility of its utilization in the breeding programmes.
