Vol. 11, Issue 7 (2022)

Author(s):
Akrati Dev, DK Dwivedi, Ashish Kumar, Kirti Singh, S Dixit and NA Khan

Abstract:
To increase crop production and productivity, genetic improvement is essential, which necessitates knowledge of genetic divergence and cluster distance between genotypes. The study was carried out during the primary cropping season of 2019. Incorporating augmented design was used to plan the experiment. 13 agronomic characters' worth of data were collected, and analysis of variance revealed significant variations between genotypes for every character. Eight divergent groups were identified by cluster analysis, with clusters II and V having the greatest inter-cluster distance (D²=4.410) and clusters VI and VIII having the smallest inter-cluster distance (D²=2.394). To obtain genotypes with high grain yield and early maturation, it is advised to cross genotypes from clusters II and V, V and VI. Parental material selection for upcoming breeding programmes that use hybridization should be done between clusters rather than within clusters.