Evaluation of genetic diversity in short duration cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

Background Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an important fiber crop in Bangladesh. Genetic diversity among the genotypes of a germplasm has a great importance for cotton breeding. An experiment was carried out at the experimental field of Cotton Research, Training and Seed Multiplication Farm, Sreepur, Gazipur during the cropping season of 2015–2016 with 100 genotypes to evaluate genetic diversity of cotton genotypes for short duration using field performance. Results The genotypes under study were grouped into ten clusters through multivariate analysis using GENSTAT-5. Cluster III contained maximum number of genotypes (16) while cluster X contained the least number of genotypes (7). The inter cluster distances were larger than intra cluster distances in all cases suggesting wider genetic diversity among the genotypes of different clusters. The maximum and minimum inter cluster distances were observed between clusters II and V (10.78) and clusters VIII and IX (3.30), respectively. The results indicated diverse and close relationship among the genotypes of those clusters. Earliness index, single boll weight and days to boll opening showed the higher contribution to the genetic divergence among 19 characters. Conclusion Based on the results of genetic diversity and earliness index, the genotypes from cluster II could be used as parent in hybridization program for the development of short duration cotton variety.