Back to Contents

Pak. J. Bot., 45(S1): 583-593, 2013.

FREE FULL TEXT PDF

assessment of Genetic Variation in Ethiopian Mustard (BRASSICA CARINATA A. BRAUN) germplasm using Multivariate Techniques

MUHAMMAD ZADA¹, NAHIDA ZAKIR², M. ASHIQ RABBANI² AND ZABTA KHAN SHINWARI^1*

Abstract: The study aims to determine the extent of genetic variability and relationships among the Brassica carinata germplasm using agro-morphological characters. The germplasm assayed comprised 134 accessions acquired from abroad and collected locally from diverse ecologies of Pakistan. All the genotypes were characterized for 33 agro-morphological characters ranging from seedling emergence to crop maturity. The data were analyzed by numerical taxonomic techniques using 2 complementary procedures: cluster and principal component analyses. A considerable level of variability was noticed for a number of agro-morphological traits. The largest variation was observed in seed yield (kg/ha) whereas a moderate variability was observed in plant height, main raceme length, silique/main raceme, glucosinolate contents and erucic acid. Hierarchical cluster analysis categorized the 134 accessions into seven main clusters. First three principal components (PCs) accounted for a total of 39.03% of variability among the accessions using agro-morphological traits. PC1 had 17.79% of total variation in agro-morphological traits; PC2 depicted 11.45% of total morphological variability, while PC3 accounted for 9.80% of the total variation. On the basis of greater yield potential, seed yield per plant, 1000-seed weight, oil contents, protein contents and oleic acid four promising genotypes (25939, 25942, 25994 and 26190) have been identified for future breeding and variety development programs.

¹Department of Biotechnology, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

²Institute of Agri-Biotechnology & Genetic Resources, NARC, Islamabad, Pakistan

^*Corresponding author’s e-mail: shinwari2008@gmail.com