Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

STUDIES ON GENETIC DIVERGENCE IN POTATO (SOLANUM TUBEROSUM L.)

Patram Singh, P.K. Sharma, P.K. Joshi, S.K. Nair and Amit Dixit

Abstract

Twenty potato genotypes collected from different part of Chhattisgarh were evaluated under the All India Coordinated Research Project on Potato, Department of Horticulture, IGKV, Raipur, Chhattisgarh during 2013-14. The experiment was framed out under Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. These twenty potato genotypes were evaluated for genetic divergence based on fourteen yield attributing characters. These genotypes under study were grouped into four different and diverse clusters. The intra and inter-cluster D2 values ranged from 2.157 (cluster I) to 2.724 (cluster IV) and clusters II and IV (3.489) to clusters II and III (5.717) and the maximum intra and inter-cluster divergence was observed between the cluster IV (2.724) and clusters II and III (5.717), respectively. Genotypes in cluster IV had the highest mean tuber yields and the attributing traits viz. plant emergence per cent, number of compound leaves, number of leaflets, number of shoots, fresh weight of shoots /plant, dry weight of shoots/plant, plant canopy cover per cent, number of tubers/plant, tuber weight/plant, and marketable tuber yields ha-1. All the genotypes included in present investigation, were indigenous, but there grouping of different clusters, suggested that genotypes namely IGP-2012-7, Kufri Surya, Kufri Pusker, IGP-20112,Kufri Pukhraj and Kufri Badshah possessing superiority among genotypes may be utilized as parents in hybridization programme for obtaining desirable segregants and hybrids in potato for Chhattisgarh.