MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS IN NIGER (GUIZOTIA ABYSSINICA CASS.)

Abstract

Genetic divergence, assessed in 15cultivars of nigerusing 0 2 statistic for six developmental characters, showed grouping of cultivars into seven clusters. Cluster II was the largest with 4 cultivars, followed by clusterI with three and clusters I11-V with two, and clusters VI and VII with a single cultivar each. Cluster II showed maximum genetic distance from cluster V, suggesting wide diversity between these groups. Four characters, viz. days to flowering, maturity, test weight and yield, were the highest contributors to 0 2 values. Four clusters consisting of nine cultivars have been judged as important for varietal improvement programme on the basis of their intercluster distances and higher cluster mean values for the aforesaid four characters.