Grain Yield Based Cluster Analysis and Correlation of Agronomic Traits of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) Genotypes in Ethiopia

The experiment was conducted in the western Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia in three locations and three growing seasons (a total of seven environments). The objective of the study was to assess the interrelation ship of the genotypes in their grain yield and other agronomic traits. The experiment was laid out in RCBD with a total and harvestable plot size of 14m2 and 10 m2 respectively. In the experiment a total of thirteen sesame genotypes were used and evaluated for the interrelation ship of their grain yield and other agronomic traits. Based on their grain yield the thirteen genotypes were grouped in to four clusters and the maximum genetic divergence (D2= 215.57) was observed between cluster-II and cluster-III. Grain yield had a significant and positive correlation (P<0.01) with oil content (r = 0.79), number of branches (r = 0.7) and number of capsules (r =0.68). In contrast to this, yield was negatively correlated with days to maturity (r = -0.58 ) and days to flowering (r = -0.11). Exhaustive assessment of the association of grain yield and other agronomic traits is indispensably important for further breeding program and enhancing grain yield of sesame. Keywords: Cluster, Correlation, Genotype, Grain yiel