Assessment of Morphological and Molecular Genetic Diversity in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh]

Background: The estimation of genetic diversity in pigeonpea is crucial for desiging breeding programmes and germplasm conservation. Morphological studies alone do not provide sufficient information to understand genetic diversity. Molecular analysis using SSRs can provide additional information on genetic diversity that can be used for selection of diverse parents. Methods: The experimental material for present study consisted of 50 diverse genotypes of pigeonpea. The fifty genotypes were planted in Randomized Complete Block Design consisted of three replications during the kharif 2020-21. The estimation of morphological genetic diversity was done by Mahalanobis D-2 statistics. The molecular genetic diversity analysis was done by using 30 molecular markers in same genotypes. Result: The assessment of morphological diversity revealed that the fifty pigeonpea genotypes were grouped into four different clusters with cluster I as the largest cluster (33 genotypes). The molecular markers differentiated the 50 genotypes in five major clusters with cluster II as the largest cluster (24 genotypes). The results of present study suggested that morphological and molecular diversity in pigeonpea is different. On the basis of genetic distance, the genotypes RVSA 2014- 1 and PA 406 were found most genetically distant and may be used in hybridization programme to create diverse progenies.