Swati Das (Sur), Surya Shekhar Das and Parthadeb Ghosh
The objective of the present study was to assess the extent of genetic diversity and the relationships among the 4 black gram varieties based on DNA data. A total number of 10 ISSR primers that produced polymorphic and reproducible fragments were selected to amplify genomic DNA of the urd bean genotypes under investigation. Ten primers amplified a total number of 269 bands under 103 loci across four genotypes. The cultivars exhibited an overall 65.05% polymorphism. The value of Jacaard’s similarity coefficient ranged from 0.557 to 0.697. The four urd bean cultivars were grouped into 3 clusters at 55.7 per cent similarity. In comparison to other cultivars, Gautam showed most genetic variability, suggesting utilization of this species over others namely Sulata, Kalindi and Sarada for breeding programme and in transferring the characters into different urd bean cultivars. Overall, a high degree of genetic diversity among the urd bean cultivars was recorded. It could be concluded that black gram has sufficient amount of genetic diversity and a wide range in genetic base of the studied genotypes which can be used for crop improvement.