Research Article 4 GENETIC DIVERGENCE STUDIES IN CHRYSANTHEMUM (DENDRANTHEMA GRANDIFLORA TZVELEV)

*Author for Correspondence In chrysanthemum based on Mahalanobis’s D2 analysis, genetic divergence studies were conducted in one hundred and four genotypes and they were grouped into eleven divergent clusters. The highest inter cluster D2 value was recorded between clusters VI and IX (195.87) indicating that crosses may be attempted between the genotypes of cluster VI (Apurva Singar and Local Button) and cluster IX (Miss India, Tambra, White Silver Cloud, Red Queen and Swan) to obtain new desirable recombinants in chrysanthemum. Among all the characters, the most important character contributing to divergence was number of ray florets per head followed by number of disc florets per head and flower yield per plant. With principal component analysis, the first eight principal components with eigen values more than one contributed to 73.23 per cent of cumulative variability