Diversity analysis of mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] genotypes for bruchid resistance

Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek] is one of the most important pulse crops in the tropical and sub-tropical areas. Although the total production of mungbean is not enough to supplement the nutritional requirement, an additional issue further augments the concern of its use: the post-harvest damage in the storage condition. Bruchids (Callosobruchus chinensis) are major polyphagous storage pest that causes substantial losses, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The objective of the current study was to classify the fifty-two mungbean genotypes into groups based on their bruchid resistant and susceptibility by using multivariate statistical analysis. Since the present study emphasizes the progressive breeding program, the multivariate analysis is expected to effectively demonstrate the diversity of bruchid attack and therefore identify and ensures the correct representation of the resistant genotypes. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) displays the correlation of bruchid morpho-physiological traits and the diversity analysis groups the considered genotypes into four clusters (I-IV). The cluster III contains seven genotypes which are observed most effective against bruchid attack. The PC1 shows 70.83% of variability where PC2 shows 29.17% of variability. PCA picturize the most positive correlation between the number of egg laid (NOEL-0.922) and percentage of seed damage (POSD-0.975) among all the morpho-physiological traits. The cluster III thus helps selecting resistant parents for hybridization in future crop improvement program.