PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

An experiment involving 18 genotypes of Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea L.) was conducted in randomised block design with three replications at oil seed research farm of Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur during Rabi season 2020-21. Data were recorded and analysed for fourteen characters viz., Days to 50% flowering, Days to maturity, Plant height (cm), Number of primary branches/plant, Number of secondary branches/plant, Number of siliquae/plant, Number of grains/siliqua, Economic yield/plant (gm), Biological yield/plant (gm), Oil content (%), 1000 seed weight (gm), Protein content (%), Methionine content (%) and Tryptophan content (%). All the 18 genotypes were grouped into 5 clusters using D² statistics. Cluster II, III and IV had equal number of genotypes (5) while, cluster I had 2 genotypes. The minimum number of genotypes (1) was present in cluster V. Maximum intra-cluster distance was found in cluster I while, there was no intra-cluster distance in cluster V. The inter cluster distance was found maximum between cluster II and V followed by cluster IV and V & cluster III and V. The utilization of genetically diverse parents from these clusters is likely to produce superior segregants in the succeeding generations. Such wide genetic diversity can be strategically exploited to enhance yield potential and adaptability.