USE OF RAPD FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG EXOTIC AND COMMERCIAL BANANA CLONES

Banana production in Pakistan is confined to subtropical regions. Most orchards are based on the cultivar Basrai. This monoculture facilitates the diseases spread and causing epidemics resulting in the simultaneous decimation of the crop in the entire region. The aim of this study was to identify different features of exotic banana clones by means of RAPD-based genetic analysis and to compare them with ‘Basrai’. Fourteen different banana clones were assessed, 12 of which were exotic and 2 local cultivars. Fifteen primers were used to amplify the fragments from banana genome. Ninety-six scorable fragments were obtained, out of which 78 (81.25%) were polymorphic and only 18 (18.75%) were monomorphic. Similarities among cultivars were calculated according to Nei & Li method. Maximum similarity was observed between GCTCV 247 and GCTCV 215 (0.89) and minimum between FHIA 18 and FHIA 23 (0.38).