GENETIC DIVERGENCE STUDIES FOR YIELD AND FIBRE QUALITY TRAITS IN UPLAND COTTON (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

B. BALAKRISHNA¹*, V. CHENGA REDDY², AHAMED M. LAL³, K.V. SIVA REDDY^4
1Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, HC&RI, Dr. YSR Horticultural University, Venkataramannagudem, 534 101, Andhra Pradesh
²Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, 522 034, Andhra Pradesh, India
³Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, 522 034, Andhra Pradesh, India
⁴Regional Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Lam, Guntur, 522 034, Andhra Pradesh, India
* Corresponding Author : balakrishna.bonthu.agrico@gmail.com

Received : 29-06-2016     Accepted : 08-07-2016     Published : 18-10-2016
Volume : 8     Issue : 48       Pages : 2045 - 2049
Int J Agr Sci 8.48 (2016):2045-2049

Keywords : Genetic divergence, Mahalanobi’s D2 statistic, clusters, upland cotton
Academic Editor : Satish Yadlapalli, Dr K. Bayyapu Reddy
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : None declared
Author Contribution : None declared

Genetic diversity in 70 upland cotton genotypes for 16 yield attributes and quality characters was studied using Mahalanobis D2 statistic. The 70 genotypes were grouped into 13 clusters. The pattern of grouping of genotypes revealed the presence of considerable diversity in the material studied. The forces other than geographical separation were may be responsible for genetic divergence among the genotypes and this was further confirmed by the distribution of genotypes into different clusters. The distance between genotypes placed in same cluster was more when compared with genotypes belongs to different clusters. This clearly indicates that exploitation of heterosis may be possible when hybrids produced by crossing parents from different and distant clusters.