Open Access

ARTICLE

Estimation of Genetic Divergence and Character Association Studies in Local and Exotic Diversity Panels of Soybean (Glycine max L.) Genotypes

by Syed Ali Zafar^1,*, Muhammad Aslam², Haroon Zaman Khan³, Sehrish Sarwar¹, Rao Saad Rehman⁴, Mariam Hassan¹, Ramala Masood Ahmad², Rafaqat A. Gill⁵, Basharat Ali⁶, Ibrahim Al-Ashkar⁷, Abdullah Ibrahim⁷, Md Atikur Rahman⁸, Ayman El Sabagh^9,*

1 Oilseeds Research Institute, Ayub Agricultural Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan
2 Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
3 Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
4 College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
5 Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Oil Crops, The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Oil Crops Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430062, China
6 Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan
7 Department of Plant Production, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
8 Grassland and Forage Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan, Korea
9 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kafrelsheikh, Kafr Elsheikh, Egypt

* Corresponding Authors: Syed Ali Zafar. Email: ; Ayman El Sabagh. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(6), 1887-1906. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2023.027679

Received 08 November 2022; Accepted 29 January 2023; Issue published 11 April 2023

Abstract

The availability of favorable genetic diversity is a thriving vitality for the success of a breeding program. It provides a firm basis of selecting superior breeding lines for the development of high yielding crop genotypes. In this context, present investigation aimed to generate information on genetic divergence and character association in a diversity panel of 123 local and exotic soybean genotypes. Analysis of variance revealed significant response of the evaluated genotypes based on studied attributes. It depicted the probability of selecting desirable soybean genotypes by focusing on character association studies and genetic diversity analysis. Correlation analysis revealed that seed yield per plant showed high positive correlation with 100-seed weight followed by pods per plant and plant height. Furthermore, path coefficient analysis exposed that pods per plant had maximum direct contribution in seed yield per plant followed by 100-seed weight, days to flowering and SPAD measurement. Genotype named “G-10” showed maximum yield per plant followed by 24607, G-52, 24593, Arisoy, 24566, 17426, A-3127, 24570 and 24567. Genetic diversity analysis grouped the evaluated germplasm into 17 clusters. All clusters showed zero intra-cluster variability; while inter-cluster divergence ranged from 9.00 to 91.11. Cluster V showed maximum inter-cluster distance with cluster XII followed by that of between V and VIII. Moreover, cluster IV with superior genotypes (G-10, 24607, 24593 and 24566), VI (17426 and 24567), XIII (24570) and X (Arisoy and G-52) showed above mean values for most of the studied characters. Overall, the results of hybridization between the superior genotypes of these cluster pairs might be useful for soybean breeding with improving agronomic traits and adaptability.

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