DISTRIBUTION OF MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AMONG GERMPLASM LINES OF PANICUM MAXIMUM JACQ.

Abstract

One hJ'ldred forty one germplasm lines of Panicum maximum collected from
South and North-Eastern Hill region of India were evaluated for yield and six
morphological traits. Variability was studied in terms of range, frequency distribution
and coefficient of variation (CV). The pattern of frequency distribution varied from
asymmetrical unimodal for plant height to unimodal symmetrical type for length
of the panicle. However, amodal trend was observed in case of leaf length.
With respect to coefficient of variability, it varied from 9.45% for leaf sheath to
48.65% for fresh weight. Range of variation was of the highest order in case
of plant height (97.5 to 230.0 em) followed by leaf length (16.4 to 77.3 em)
and panicle length (19 to 53.5 em). The extent of variability present in the
genetic material under study indicates the possibility of its utilization in the
breeding programmes.