Investigation of Cotton Germplasm for Genetic Divergence Regarding Yield Related Trait Using Principal Component Analysis

Abstract Background: Cotton is a vital fiber and cash crop in Pakistan. Genetic diversity of a germplasm play an important role for cotton breeding. One hundred and two germplasm of upland cotton were investigated for genetic divergence regarding yield related attributes using principal component analysis. The research was carried out in RCB design with 2 replications. Experiment data was recorded on various qualitative and quantitative parameters and were subjected to principal components analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis.Results: PCA result showed that only four components were considered on account of their eigenvalue greater than 1 which contributed 65% to the total variability. Score plot showed that the suncrop-6, tipu-9, TJ-max, Deebal, CRIS-543, TH-20, Tahafuz-7, Eagle, BS-80, IUB-69, BH-221, NIAB-1048, and NIAB BT-2 showed the vertex of polygon and resulted as most divergent germplasm. Similarly cluster analysis also categorized the yield related traits into 5 main cluster. Cluster-1 contain 20 germplasm, cluster-II contain 16, and cluster-III, cluster-IV, and cluster-V comprise 13, 16, and 37 germplasm, respectively.Conclusion: Based on results, it was recommended that these genetically diverse germplasm might be used as parents that could be utilized in upcoming breeding programs.