Study of Genetic Diversity for Rice Genotypes under Aerobic Condition

An experiment was conducted to study genetic diversity in rice genotypes under aerobic condition using of D2 statistic by Tocher method. The Thirty (30) rice genotypes were grouped into seven clusters indicated the presence of wide genetic diversity among them. The grouping of genotypes showed no clear relationship with their geographic origins. Out of 22 different traits, kernel breadth and kernel length were observed to be major contributors to genetic diversity in the rice genotypes. Maximum inter cluster distances were recorded between cluster 4 and cluster 5 followed by cluster 2 and cluster 4, cluster 4 and cluster 7, cluster 3 and 5. Cluster 1 exhibited the highest intra-cluster distance (52.68). In this study, the inter-cluster distances were higher than the intra-cluster distances, which shows the presence of considerable divergence among the genotypes. Genotypes belonging to these clusters can be used for future hybridization program to improve yield potential under aerobic condition.