Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) under Prayagraj Agro-climatic Conditions

The goal of the current study was to assess the genetic variability parameters and genetic diversity in 40 rice genotypes for 13 quantitative traits in the Kharif, 2022 Season at the field experimentation center, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, Uttar Pradesh. Analysis of variance indicated highly significant differences among the genotypes for all the traits. Considerable variability existed among the genotypes for all the characters studied. It is concluded that among 40 genotypes of rice, Nellore Dhanyarasi showed early flowering (77 days), IR-64 had characters like early maturity (108 days), high grain yield per plant is seen in Shuats Dhan-6 (62.1 g), JHARA SEL showed high plant height (185 cm) and high biomass is seen in Shuats Dhan-6 (123.6 g), Swathi showed high panicle length (43.7 cm). Highest GCV and PCV were depicted for grain yield per plant, biological yield, harvest index and number of spikelets per panicle. The highest heritability was observed for Grain Yield per Plant followed by Harvest Index, Flag Leaf length, Biological Yield and Number of Spikelets per Panicle. The Genetic Advance in per cent of mean is high for grain yield per plant, biological yield, harvest index and number of Spikelets per Panicle. Based on D2 values, 40 genotypes grouped into 7 clusters. Among 7 clusters, cluster I had a greater number of genotypes (26) followed by cluster II (8), III (2), IV, V, VI andVII (1) genotype each. Cluster VI and cluster III (365.72) followed by cluster VII and cluster V (363.6), were most diverse from each other and the genotypes included in these clusters provide a broad spectrum of variability in segregation and may be used as parents in the future hybridization programme to develop desirable genotypes for grain yield improvement in rice genotypes. The trait Grain yield per hill had maximum contribution towards to genetic divergence followed by biological yield, Harvest Index, Test Weight. Therefore, all these characters should be given due consideration during selection for crop improvement.