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Pak. J. Bot., 42(1): 89-96, 2010.

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GENETIC DIVERSITY IN WHEAT GERMPLASM COLLECTIONS FROM BALOCHISTAN  PROVINCE OF PAKISTAN

ASIF ALI KHAN*, AHSAN IQBAL, FAISAL SAEED AWAN AND IFTIKHAR A. KHAN

Abstract: Productivity of wheat varieties being bred for the last many years is stagnant in Pakistan, apparently because of the narrowed genetic base of their parental lines. As a part of the national wheat germplasm characterization programme, we examined genetic diversity among 75 accessions of wheat using RAPD markers and assessed the relationship and genetic distance between them. The accessions surveyed were comprised of landrace populations of Triticum aestivum L., collected from various districts of the Balochistan province of Pakistan, which is considered a reservoir of genetic diversity, particularly for wheat. The genetic similarity revealed by RAPD markers among the wheat accessions was medium to high. The accessions collected from Sibi and Pishin districts had the greatest similarity. The polymorphism revealed in the wheat accessions, appeared to be distributed with the location of collections. The high degree of similarity even among the presumably landrace material emphasises the need for the expansion of germpalsm resources and development of wheat varieties with diverse genetic background, which could substantiate the wheat breeding programmes to increase its productivity.

Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics/ Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Corresponding author's: asifpbg@hotmail.com