Evaluation of genetic diversity of Aegilops tauschii accessions using morphological characters

A collection of sixty-three accessions of Ae. tauschii belonging to different eco-geographical regions were used to evaluate its genetic diversity by 15 morphological characters. The data recorded were analyzed on all accessions using multivariate analyses. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that first six principal components with eigenvalues more than 1 explained 77.2% of the variability amongst accessions. Through cluster analysis according to Euclidian distance and UPGMA method, accessions divided into three groups. Knowledge of genetic diversity in Aegilops species provides different levels of information which is important in the management of germplasm resources.