Genetic diversity and population structure of Heteropogon contortus L. germplasm collected from diverse agro-climatic regions in India and development of a core germplasm set

Heteropogon contortus, an important constituent of major grasslands of India, Australia and many countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas, is important for pasture and grassland productivity. Hence genetic improvement of the grass needs attention. A genetic variability study, including development of a core subset, was carried out by evaluating 235 accessions collected from different agro-ecological zones of India. The study, based on 16 metric and 14 non-metric traits along with 8 nutritional parameters, indicated that considerable genetic variability existed among the germplasm and selection could result in identification of suitable types for target environments. Clustering and subclustering was performed to select 35 accessions to form a core subset. The statistical analysis indicated that the core subset captured almost all the variability present in the entire germplasm. The study will help researchers to focus future studies on this core subset in developing genetic improvement programs.