Assessment of genetic variability, character association and genetic diversity studies in lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) germplasm
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Lotus ( Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) is an important aquatic ornamental crop possessing immense ornamental, medicinal, nutritional and cultural value. The present investigation was conducted during February 2024 to October 2025 at the College of Horticulture, Mysuru, Karnataka. Fifty lotus germplasms collected from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu were evaluated in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with two replications to study the extent of genetic variability, character association and genetic divergence. Significant differences were observed among the germplasm for all the characters studied, indicating considerable variability. High genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation were recorded for number of flowers per plant (82.81% and 84.95%), number of coin leaves per plant (64.03% and 65.31%) and duration of flowering (49.97% and 53.11%). High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent mean was observed for number of flowers per plant (95.00% and 213.08%), duration of flowering (88.50% and 124.13%) and flower diameter (94.80% and 46.08%), indicating predominance of additive gene action and effectiveness of direct selection. Correlation studies revealed that number of flowers per plant showed significant positive association with duration of flowering at genotypic (0.784) and phenotypic (0.720) levels, whereas days to bud initiation exhibited negative association with flower yield (-0.597 and − 0.459, respectively). Path coefficient analysis revealed high positive direct effects of number of coin leaves per plant (1.013 and 1.029) and duration of flowering (0.482 and 0.474) on flower yield at genotypic and phenotypic levels, respectively. Diversity analysis grouped the germplasm into six clusters with maximum inter-cluster distance between Cluster V and VI (20.68), indicating wide genetic divergence. Thus study highlighted diverse germplasm grouped under six clusters can be further utilized for future breeding programme and development of high-yielding ornamental lotus cultivars.
