Morphological and biochemical diversity of promising mango (Mangifera indica L.) indigenous cultivars in India

The genetic diversity of 30 newly collected primary mango cultivars was assessed at the Horticulture Research Centre, Patharchatta of G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. A total of 87 morpho-biochemical parameters, including leaf, inflorescence, and fruit characteristics, were analyzed using descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis. Analysis revealed significant diversification for various traits among the analysed accessions. A dendrogram created using Euclidean distances and Ward's method revealed two main clusters, indicating high dissimilarity levels and wide variability in the germplasm. Based on the fruit quality parameters, seven genotypes (PMGC-163, PMSS-1, PMSS-17, PMSS-18, Langra, Dashehari, PMGC-48, PMGC-96, and PMSS-11) were found to be superior and promising for cultivation as well as potential parental genotypes in mango improvement programs. The successful characterization followed by grouping may help better utilization and streamline improvement strategy of mango.