Determination of plant diversity using morphological characters and path analysis in dill germplasms

The most important composition character within a plant breeding program is to have type and amount of genetic diversity. In addition to using a visual approach and genetic tools to discern plant variation, application of statistical methods can be utilized to screen and classify genetic differences among plants within a plant population. A was study set up asarandomized complete block design with three replications to evaluate the geneticdiversity of ten different dill (Anethuprogrammm graveolens) germplasms. Analysis of variance showed significant differences (α = 0.01) among germplasms regarding the plant characters. Results elucidated the existence of great morphological/phytochemical variation among these germplasms. Application of principle components analysis has led the germplasms into four main classes based on the characters growth performance. Although, germplasms have geographically different growing conditions, some of those classified in a similar group according to their growing and plant diversity. Further analysis could categorize some of germplasms such as Varamin, Hamadan and Dezful into a distinct group having the highest rate of Carvon concentration in theirtissues, especially in the seeds.