Genetic Diversity of Rice Mutant Genotypes Using Multivariate Methods

Genetic diversity among 64 rice genotypes including 56 m5 mutants and 8 check varieties was studied using multivariate analysis. the experimental materials were evaluated during growing season of 2013-14 at the experimental field of rice research institute of iran (rrii), rasht, iran. the field experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. with respect to the positive and significant partial regression coefficients and direct effects of number of panicles per plant and number of spikelet per panicle, it could be stated that increasing the amount of these traits will cause an increase in grain yield. the dendrogram from cluster analysis divided all 64 rice genotypes into three main groups. maximum distance existed between clusters ii and iii, therefore the genotypes selected from these clusters could be used in hybridization programs. the first principal component included plant height, internode length, number of panicles per plant, panicle length, panicle weight, number of filled grains, grain productivity, 100 grain weight, grain width and grain yield. second principal component included days to flowering, number of panicles per plant and number of unfilled grains. two-dimensional plot based on the first two principal components indicated the existence of differences among rice genotypes under study. the presence of vast diversity among 64 rice genotypes by cluster analysis was also confirmed partly by the three-dimensional graph of three principal components. in conclusion, the studied genotypes represent a rich source of genetic diversity and could be useful in rice breeding programs. the crosses g53 × g39 and g62 × g11 will be useful for hybridization, because the parental genotypes were identified as being most divergent.