Biological divergence in the land races of indian cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Biological diversity in a population of 32 representative genotypes of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) assessed using Mahalanobis's D2 values indicated considerable diversity in the material studied. The 32 populations were grouped into 8 clusters. There was a considerable range in the magnitude of ‘0’ values which suggested the existence of appreciable genetic divergence in the population for the characters studied. Further, the study revealed the pattern or distribution of genotype from different regions into different clusters was at random, demonstrating that the geographical isolation may not be the only factor for causing biological/genetic diversity.