Multivariate analysis among advanced breeding lines of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under sub-tropical ecology of Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir.

The present study aimed to determine the nature and extent of genetic divergence for agro-morphological and quality traits amongst advanced breeding lines of rice utilizing multivariate techniques. Based on the inter se D2 values, breeding lines were grouped into six non-overlapping clusters, indicating presence of diversity amongst the lines. Cluster I and Cluster II were found to be the largest clusters consisting of 14 and 9 genotypes, respectively, while, the remaining four clusters were mono-genotypic. The maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster II and VI, while the maximum intra-cluster distance was recorded for cluster II. Breeding lines present in cluster II were observed to have highest cluster means for traits viz., plant height, total number of tillers per plant, amylose content, grain yield per plant and grain yield per plot indicating its superiority over rest of the clusters. Traits including grain yield per plot, grain yield per plant, days to maturity, 1000-grain weight, total number of tillers per plant and panicle length were observed to be the major contributors to genetic divergence. Principal component analysis extracted six principal components of which first five components viz., PC-I to PC-IV had eigen scores greater than one. This suggested that traits within these axis were of importance. Principal component analysis revealed that the traits viz., number of effective tillers per plant, grain yield per plot, plant height, panicle length and days to 50 per cent flowering contributed maximum towards genetic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]