Genetic Diversity in Rice Accessions of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

Seventy-one rice accessions from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were evaluated to study the diversity pattern among the genotypes. The genotypes were grouped into eight clusters. The distribution pattern indicated that maximum number of genotypes 17 was grouped into the cluster III followed by 12 each in cluster I and II.The mode of distribution of genotypes from different geographic regions into various clusters was at random, indicating no association between geographical distribution of genotypes and genetic divergence. The intercluster distance in most of the cases was higher than the intra-cluster distance, indicating wider genetic diversity among the accessions of different groups. The highest inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster VI and VIII (6.51) followed by cluster II & VII (5.56), showing wide diversity among the groups. The highest intra-cluster distance was observed for the cluster VII and the lowest for the cluster V. The genotypes in these clusters i.e.Tulsi Mala (cluster II), Kali Kamod (cluster VI), Shankar Jeera and Bhata Dubraj (cluster VII) and Lohandi and Til Kasturi (cluster VIII) can be used as potential donors for future hybridization programme to develop genotype with high grain yield.