Abstract

Rice contributes significantly to global food security and is a major food crop for half of the world’s population. Sixty-five traditional and improved rice genotypes were collected and grown in pot condition to evaluate the presence of genetic diversity. Analysis of variance showed significantly difference among the genotypes for all traits. The phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation for the most of the traits. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive and negative correlation among the traits. Principal component analysis showed that the first two principal components of the considered traits and pointed out a wide variation among the genotypes. The dendrogram of cluster analysis grouped 65 rice genotypes into eight clusters. Data from this study provide presence of sufficient genetic diversity among the traditional and improved rice genotypes which can be employed in future rice breeding program for either varietal improvement or developing new variety.

Keywords: Genetic variability; Heritability; Genetic advance; Correlation coefficient