Investigation of genetic variation in Dactylis glomerata L. populations

In this experiment genetic variation, heritability and relationships among traits were studied in 21 accessions of Dactylis glomerata L. under field conditions. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Results of analysis of variance showed significant differences between accessions for most of the traits There was considerable genotypic coefficient of variation for forage yield per plant. Broad-sense heritability was high for days to heading, flag leaf length, days to pollination and forage yield. Correlation coefficients showed that forage yield/plant had a high and positive correlation with number of stems, flag leaf length, peduncle length, flag leaf width, plant height, and crown diameter. Using principal components analysis, the first three components determined 79% of the total variation. Cluster analysis grouped the 21 accessions into 3 clusters with cluster 1 containing accessions with lower forage yield and height and medium values for other traits. Accessions in cluster 2 and 3 had respectively higher and lower values for the traits when compared to accessions in cluster 1. Iranian accessions were mainly grouped in cluster 1 and 2. Our results indicate presence of comparable genetic potentials in Iranian populations of Dactylis glomerata L. for cultivar development.