Assessment of Breeding Potential of Taro (Colocasia esculenta L.) Genotypes Using D2 Analysis under Hill Zone of Karnataka

Using Mahalanobis D2 statistics, the genetic diversity of 20 genotypes of taro for 21 characteristics was assessed as part of a breeding work to increase production potential. Five clusters were formed from the genotypes, indicating a significant level of genetic variation in the material being studied. With eight genotypes, Cluster I was the largest, followed by Cluster II with seven, and Cluster III with three. Each of the solitary clusters IV and V has a single genotype. The clusters that exhibit the greatest number of genotypes are indicative of limited genetic diversity. The intra-cluster distance was highest in cluster III and lowest in clusters IV and V. Clusters I and V have the highest inter-cluster distance, followed by II and V. These clusters could potentially be used as prospective genotypes for a hybridization programme. Tuber yield/plot (13%) showed the largest contribution to the overall divergence, followed by Corm yield/plant (12.20%) and Tuber yield/plant (11.43%). The finding that clusters V and III showed high cluster means for plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf breadth, leaf area, leaf area index, tuber yield per plant, tuber yield per plot, and estimated tuber yield is noteworthy. These clusters can be effectively used in hybridization programmes to obtain desired transgressive segregants.