Genetic Diversity of Alnus nitida Reported from Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Genetic Diversity of Alnus nitida Reported from Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Javed Khan1, Abdul Majid1, Mohammad Nisar2*, Ali Hazrat2, Nausheen Nazir3, Muhammad Zahoor3, Mohammad Ihsan2, Azhar Hussain Shah1, Muhamad Ajmal Khan4 and Muhammad Yahya1
ABSTRACT
Morphological characterization is important in determining the genetic variation of genotypes among different plant species and its knowledge help the breeders and farmers to select the best variety. Alnus nitida is one of the native and most important plants in District Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, mostly used for medicinal purposes. In the present study, total 50 genotypes of Alnus nitida were collected from Dir lower and evaluated for morphological traits (leaf, petiole, nut, and catkin size). A significant level of variations was observed in the size of the leaf (10.22%), petiole (24.84%), catkin (9.19%), and nut (3.08%). There is a significant correlation between petiole size and leaf size, which is an important nutritional parameter that could be used successfully in future breeding programs. Based on cluster analysis all the genotypes were divided into two main lineages; lineage A which is further divided into 3 clusters (C1, C2, and C3), and lineage B, further divided into 2 clusters (C4 and C5). The principal component analysis estimated the total variations in the range of 51.43 to 100% with an Eigenvalue of 0.25. It was concluded from the results that Alnus nitida L. genotypes available in Pakistan have come from a narrow gene pool and such types of variations can be exploited to develop new varieties with desirable traits.
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June 2022
Vol. 38, Iss. 2, Pages 388-758
