Chrysanthemum: Genetic variability

Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandifloa Tzvelve) is a crop with wide diversity grown throughout the world and it occupies third place in the International cut flowers trade. Considering the importance of the crop and potentiality, there is a need to study the variability to identify the superior genotypes for successful crop improvement and crop production. Therefore an investigation with chrysanthemum accessions was undertaken to assess the genetic variability existing in the selected phenotype for growth, flowering, yield and quality parameters, further to assess the heritability, genetic advance for various characters and to study the association of characters through correlation and path coefficient analysis. The characters in the germplasm is an important basic prerequisite for starting any systematic breeding programme to identify and to develop lines or varieties. The publication will be useful to the breeders, students and farmers who are involved in chrysanthemum crop improvement and crop production.