Evaluation of yield contributing characters and cluster analysis of soybean genotypes

Abstract

Soybean is a major oilseed crop in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is unable to fulfill the demand for soybeans. This experiment was carried out at Sher-E-Bangla Agricultural University to determine the genetic divergence among genotypes established by a Bangladeshi research center and to determine distinct genotypes with their performance for future use. Morphological divergence study among the twenty genotypes of soybean based on nine yield and yield contributing characters through the D2 statistic indicated the presence of substantial diversity by forming clusters with a wide range of inter-cluster distances. The soybean genotypes under investigation were divided into five clusters. Cluster I had the most genotypes, with 10, followed by clusters III and V, each with five and three genotypes. The relative divergence indicates how much each cluster varies from the others. Cluster I and Cluster III have the most significant order of divergence, followed by Cluster III and Cluster IV. The results revealed that the parents in these clusters are genetically heterogeneous. It's possible that a hybridization program obtained a significant heterotic response. Clusters I and II found the minimum inter-cluster distances, indicating limited genetic diversity. Cluster III had the maximum seed yield per plant cluster value. Individual performance was highest for the genotypes BINAsoybean-3, BINAsoybean-2, and Shohag for the trait seed yield per plant.