Assessment of Genetic Diversity of Maize (Zea mays L.) Inbreds Based on Morphological Traits

The screening of forty eight maize in breds from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center was carried out to estimate the genetic diversity and the results indicated presence of considerable diversity. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design with three replication and phenotypic data were analyzed using twenty one agro-morphological traits. The forty eight maize in breds grouped into eleven clusters based on Mahalanobis D2 statistic. Among them cluster I accommodated maximum number of inbred lines (15) followed by cluster III and V (9). Existence of six solitary clusters showed larger genetic diversity. The character chlorophyll content showed highest contribution towards genetic divergence followed by anthesis to silking interval, cob girth, cob weight, hundred grain weight, number of kernels per row, days 75 per cent brown husk, plant height at 90 DAS, cob length and number of kernel rows per cob. Based upon the divergence studies suggesting crossing may be made between genotypes of cluster VIII (CAL1428) and cluster X (ZL154357, CAL1467, ZL153785, CAL1422, and ZL154346) and the hybrid in these cluster could be used as donor parents for new single cross maize hybrid development for improving yield.