Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Rice (Oryza sativa (L.) Genotypes under Aerobic Condition

The present study was carried out at Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Trichy under aerobic conditions. The experimental material comprised forty-nine rice genotypes, which were laid out in randomized complete block design with two replications. The data on ten quantitative characters were recorded to assess the magnitude of genetic diversity through D2 analysis. Based on genetic distance, rice genotypes were grouped into five clusters. Among the five clusters, cluster I had the highest number of genotypes (42) and cluster V had the lowest number of one genotype. The range of inter-cluster distance was 65.33 (between clusters IV and V) to 7.91 (between clusters II and III). The genotypes in cluster IV and cluster V exhibited a high degree of genetic diversity due to the maximum inter-cluster distance between them, and these genotypes may be utilized under a hybridization program for getting high-yielding and desirable recombinants.