Abstract:
In any crop improvement program, the presence of genetic divergence is an important entry
point for selection and hybridization. A trial was executed using twenty durum wheat genotypes
with the objective of determining the genetic divergence and trait variability in durum wheat
genotypes. The study was carried out in Ofla district, Tigray during the 2014 cropping season using
a randomized complete block design. The inter-cluster distance of the twenty durum wheat
genotypes ranges from 0.57536 in cluster one to 212.02335 in cluster four. The maximum
inter-cluster distance was between cluster two and cluster four which was 212.0233. The clustering
analysis classified the twenty durum wheat genotypes into four distinct clusters and the first
cluster accommodates 15 durum genotypes including the two release genotypes. The second cluster
consists of three durum wheat genotypes. The third and fourth clusters similarly contained each
one durum wheat genotype. Cluster two and cluster four was highly divergent and crossing
program between these clusters could result better segregating population in durum w breeding program.
