Genetic Diversity in Pigeonpea [Cajanus Cajan (L.) Millsp]

Genetic divergence among 49 genotypes of pigeonpea belonging to different eco-geographical regions was studied by using Mahalanobis D² statistics. They were grouped into 6 clusters and clustering pattern of genotypes did not follow geographical origin, suggesting that geographical isolation may not be the only factor causing genetic diversity. Hence, selection of parents for hybridization should be more based on genetic diversity rather than geographic diversity. Phenol content contributed maximum towards genetic divergence followed by 100 seed weight, number of pods per plant and pod length.