Evaluation of Greengram (Vigna radiata L.) Germplasm for Seed Yield and Yield Related Traits through Cluster Analysis

Abstract

An investigation was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station, Madhira during the rabi, 2017-18 to study the genetic divergence and clustering pattern among 39 greengram germplasm accessions in Randomized Block Design (RBD) replicated twice for eight quantitative traits. Principal component analysis revealed that the first three principal components-PC I, PC II, and PC III—contributed about 83.95% of the variation for the understudied genotypes. According to a cluster analysis, genotypes can be divided into seven different groups, with cluster I being the largest with a maximum of 27 genotypes. Cluster III is second largest with 5 genotypes, and cluster II is third with 3 genotypes. The mono genotypic cluster indicated by genotypes IC-436634, IC-426458, IC-261272 and WGG-42 indicates the presence of diversity for generating variability through hybridization. The maximum distance inside cluster III was 54.11, while the greatest distance between clusters IV and VII was 507.95. Data on cluster means for various traits revealed that cluster VI had the highest mean value for the number of clusters per plant, the number of pods per plant, and the number of seeds produced per plant. The total genetic diversity was considerably influenced by both plant height and the quantity of pods per plant, Data on cluster means for various features revealed that cluster VI had the highest mean value for the number of clusters per plant, the number of pods per plant, and the number of seeds produced per plant. Plant height made the largest contribution (27.25%) and the number of pods per plant made the smallest contribution (20.23%) to the total genetic diversity. For the purpose of retrieving superior recombinants in segregating generations, the genotypes in the clusters with the greatest inter cluster distance may be included in the hybridization programme.