Estimative of genetic diversity in germ-plasm of elephant grass using the Gower algorithm

This work aimed at estimating the genetic divergence among 85 accessions of elephant-grass using the Gower algorithm for the joint study of quantitative and qualitative traits. The experiment was conducted in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, with of 85 elephant-grass genotypes. It was applied a randomized block experimental design with two replications. The experimental unit consisted of one 5.5 m-line with spacing of 2 m, totaling 11 m2. The plot area was a sampling at the center of the plot. Morpho-agronomic, multi-categorical, and phenological traits were assessed. The estimation of the genetic distance matrix was carried out by means of the joint analysis of the quantitative and qualitative variables obtained based on the Gower algorithm. The data were analyzed using GENES and R program. The results revealed that there is a wide genetic variability among the accessions studied. Some accessions show low genetic distances, which indicates that they are duplicates in the germplasm bank.