DOI: https://doi.org/10.21276/AATCCReview.2025.13.01.551

Abstract

Castor being an important non-edible oilseed crop requires a constant need for the
development of superior hybrids. To achieve the objective, the availability of diverse
germplasm is the pre-requisite. One such way to broaden the diversity of germplasm or
parental lines is by developing gene pools. The present study was aimed at studying the
phenotypic diversity of fifty advanced lines of castor derived from gene pool. Ten agro-
morphological traits were evaluated in the genotypes and significant differences were
found for all the traits. The genotypes were grouped into ten clusters in D 2 clustering
method due to high heterogeneity. The cluster I was the largest with 29 genotypes and
the clusters V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and X had only one genotype each. The genetic
distance was highest between the clusters III and X. The genetic divergence within the
clusters was maximum for cluster IV. The highest cluster means for the characters
understudy were distributed across different clusters. The genetic diversity was mostly
contributed by plant height up to primary raceme and seed yield. The superior-
performing lines for different traits were placed at different clusters in D 2 analysis. Thus
to generate heterotic hybrids, such diverse parental lines can be utilized in crossing
programmes. However, to further improve the genetic resources of castor, genotypes
from diverse clusters with high performance of yield attributing traits can be utilized.

Download this article as