Abstract

                                The success of any breeding programme depends upon the selection of suitable parents for developing elite recombinants. The eighty seven popular rice varieties of India were grouped into ten clusters using Mahalanobis D 2 statistics which revealed the presence of substantial diversity among the genotypes. The characters viz., kernel length, protein content, days to 50 per cent flowering, 100-grain weight, kernel breadth, single plant yield, plant height, number of grains per panicle and L/B ratio contributed maximum towards divergence. Maximum intra cluster distance was observed in cluster X. Cluster II showed maximum inter cluster distance with cluster IX. Most of the long slender grain types are included in the cluster X, which is having highest desirable mean values for most of the characters. The superior performing genotypes from the divergent clusters II, III, VI, VIII, IX and X can be used as parents to exploit maximum heterosis for improving productivity along with fine grain quality.

Key words : Cluster analysis, D 2 statistics, genetic divergence, rice