Genetic divergence of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) group Carioca using morpho-agronomic traits by multivariate analysis

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic divergence among the common bean group Carioca by the Tocher method (based on Mahalanobis distance) and graphic dispersion of canonic variables, aiming to identify populations with wide genetic variability. Eighteen genotypes were evaluated in four seasons using a randomized block design with four replications. The mean weight of 100 seeds, in three experiments, and the mean number of pods per plant, in one experiment, were the most important characteristics for the genetic divergence, representing more than 46% of the total variation in the first canonic variable. The first two canonic variables were sufficient to explain about 88.23% of the total variation observed in the average of the four environments. The results showed that CNFC 8008 and CNFC 8009 genotypes presented the best yield averages in all the experiments. While Perola, Princesa and CNFC 8005 cultivars were the most dissimilar for morpho-agronomic traits. Therefore, the combinations of PerolaxCNFC 8008, CNFC 8005xCNFC 8009, PerolaxCNFC 8009, PrincesaxCNFC 8008 and PrincesaxCNFC 8009 were indicated for interpopulational breeding.