Assessment of genetic diversity among interspecific derivatives in chickpea

Assessment of genetic diversity existing in and between germplasm groups for yield and its components is very important for selecting parental combinations to obtain superior recombinants which will help understanding pattern of variation for planning future breeding programme. An investigation was carried out among the 64 genotypes of chickpea that included 60 interspecific derivatives, their parents and two standard checks, to study the nature and magnitude of genetic divergence using Mahalanobis D² statistics. The data were recorded on 11 morphological traits from the genotypes raised in Simple Lattice Design having three replications. The 64 genotypes were grouped into 9 clusters. Cluster II was the largest with 14 genotypes. Highest inter-cluster distance was recorded between cluster VI and IX while highest intra cluster distance was found among the genotypes of cluster VIII. Characters like biological yield per plot, seed yield per plot and days to 50 per cent flowering contributed maximum towards the genetic diversity. The genotypes GL29009, GL29012, GL29013, GL29017, GL29019, GL29034, GL29042, GL29046, GL29069, GL29072 and GL29078 were identified as genetically diverse parents which can be used for future crop improvement programme.