GENETIC DIVERGENCE AMONG CHICKPEA CULTIVARS

Abstract

Genetic divergence among 23 cultivars of chickpea was estimated using 0 2 statistic for 7 yield traits. The cultivars were grouped into 6 clusters. Maximum genetic distance was recorded between clusters III and VI, followed by that between clusters IV and VI, suggesting wide diversity among these groups. Considering cluster means and the genetic distances, crosses between the cultivar of VI (fCCl 84225) with those of clusters III (fCCl 84217, ICCl 84219) and IV (fCCl 82108, ICCl 83214) are likely to recombine the genes for high yield.