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EVALUATION OF WINTER VEGETABLES FOR GENETIC DIVERGENCE AND CHARACTERIZATION OF GENOTYPES

S.N. QURESHI¹, R. ANWAR, M. KASHIF AND A. GHAFOOR^*

Abstract: Indigenous germplasm of winter vegetables (radish, turnip, coriander and fenugreek) were evaluated for genetic divergence and characterization under field conditions during 2003. High variance observed for most of the characters indicated the worth of local landraces. Medium to high genetic diversity was observed for radish, turnip and coriander, whereas in the case of fenugreek, the level of genetic diversity was low. Among all the vegetables desirable agronomic traits were identified which could be exploited for vegetable improvement. It was observed that areas with greater environmental stresses represented high biodiversity even in the same vicinity as the case of Attock and TT Singh (radish), Sahiwal (turnip) and DG Khan (coriander), whereas in some areas low diversity might be associated with vegetable growing culture in the area.

Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology and Genetic Resources (IABGR), National Agricultural Research Centre, Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan

¹Agricultural Research Station, Baffa, Mansehra, NWFP, Pakistan
^*Corresponding author E-mail: ghafoor59@gmail.com