Assessment of genetic diversity and variability in Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium L.)

Abstract

This investigation was conducted at Floriculture Research Centre, SVPUAT, Meerut, U.P. during the session of 2025-26 to assess genetic diversity and variability of identify promising traits for chrysanthemum improvement. Fifteen chrysanthemum genotypes were evaluated in a Completely Randomized Design with three replications for growth, flowering, and yield-related characters. Considerable variability was observed among the genotypes, with the phenotypic coefficient of variation generally higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation, indicating some environmental influence on trait expression. The highest GCV was recorded for flower yield per plant (28.21%), followed by plant spread (19.16%), average flower weight (18.94%), flower size (18.78%) and number of flowers per plant (16.98%). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as percentage of mean was observed for flower yield per plant (98.07%, 57.54%), plant spread (99.98%, 39.47%), average flower weight (98.51%, 38.72%), flower size (99.36%, 38.56%) and number of flowers per plant (94.70%, 34.03%), indicating good scope for selection. Overall, flower yield per plant, plant spread, flower size, average flower weight and number of flowers per plant were identified as important selection criteria for improving flower yield and quality. The observed genetic variability among the evaluated genotypes offers valuable opportunities for identifying superior plant material and can be effectively utilized in future chrysanthemum breeding programmes.