Genetic And Phenotypic Variability And Cluster Analysis For Quantitative And Qualitative Traits Of Rice

In order to study the genetic diversity of quantitative and qualitative traits of 36 lines and cultivars of rice, an experiment was conducted using a simple lattice design in 2000. In this study, 17traits including grain yield, number of panicle per plant, number of filled grains per panicle, 100 grain weight, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, plant height, culm length, amylose content of the grain, gel consistency, panicle weight, grain length, grain width, grain shape, days to 50% flowering and maturity were measured on 10 randomly selected plants for each plot. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among genotypes for all traits and revealed the existance of genetic variation among genotypes. The phenotypic coefficients of variability were greater than the genotypic ones for all the traits although differences for most of them were small. The highest phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were obtained respectively for gel consistency, leaf area, leaf width and number of panicle per plant. The highest general heritability was estimated for plant height and the lowest for panicle weight. Results of genotypic and phenotypic correlations indicated that number of panicle per plant, number of filled grains per panicle, panicle weight, days to 50% flowering and maturity had positive correlation with yield, wbile the rest of the traits had a negative correlation. Cluster analysis with Ward's method, classified all of the genotypes into five clusters. Genotypes of the third cluster including four pure lines Nos.4,21,22 and 24 had high yield, high number of panicle and filled grains per panicle, intermediate amylose and lower plant height, therefore, these suitable traits can be transfered through hybridization programs. Genotypes of the. first and fifth clusters can also be used to improve yield and grain cooking quality respectively.