D 2 analysis for estimating genetic divergence in different clones of Dalbergia sissoo

Genetic divergence was studied in selected 36 genotypes of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. on the basis of seven morphological parameters. The divergence among genotypes was estimated by Mahalanobis method and genotypes were grouped into clusters by Tocher’s method. All the genotypes were classified into seven distinct clusters on the basis of seven morphological traits. Cluster 1 was the largest with 25 genotypes followed by Cluster 2 (four genotypes). Cluster 3, 5, 6 and 7 were the divergent clusters. The D 2 analysis revealed that D 2 value (39.42) between clone 5040 and clone 201 was recorded maximum. The intra-cluster distance ranged from 0.00 (Cluster 3, 5, 6 and 7) to 3.89 (Cluster 1), the Cluster 3 (clone 33) was the most divergent cluster with maximum inter cluster distance (13.97) with the Cluster 7. By the divergence analysis, the parents for hybridization from diverse clusters could be selected for heterotic hybrids.