Genetic divergence in maize (Zea Mays L.) germplasm using quantitative and qualitative traits

Agro-morphological characterization of germplasm is equally vital for the accurate conservation and successful breeding programs. during the present investigation the magnitude of genetic divergence was elucidated among 150 collections of maize of chinese,japanese and pakistani origin. three commercial varieties named agaiti-2002,sadaf and sahiwal-2002 were used as check for comparison. all genotypes were evaluated for 24 quantitative and 10 qualitative agro- morphological traits under open field conditions at plant genetic resources institute (pgri),national agricultural research center (narc) islamabad,pakistan during spring-2011. basic statistical analysis showed maximum variability in grain yield per plant,plant height,1000 kernel weight,ear height,leaf length and days to harvest among the tested genotypes. simple correlation coefficient portrayed that some functionally related variables were significantly correlated. cluster analysis of the data reflected high level of genetic divergence for most of the agro-morphological traits among the studied accessions such as maximum euclidean genetic distance of 17.8 was observed between the accession 15232 and 15014 followed by 17.7 between 15329 and 15232. accessions collected from the province of khyber pakhtunkhwa were noted with the highest genetic diversity followed by the accessions from punjab,baluchistan and northern areas. principal component analysis based on quantitative agro-morphological traits further strengthened these findings. the present investigation revealed valuable amount of genetic variability among the tested maize genotypes which could be cashed for the maximum by further utilization in maize breeding strategies as a source of broad genetic base. © 2015,pakistan botanical society. all rights reserved.