Evaluation of genetic diversity in pansy accessions (Viola spp.) using growth and flowering traits

The breeding programmes of floricultural crops lay prime stress on adding colour variability in the existing pool along with retention of other important vegetative and reproductive traits of the crop. The evaluation of accessions produced in breeding programmes of pansy in the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana during the year 2019-21was conducted with twenty accessions for vegetative and flowering traits. Maximum plant height was recorded in A-12 (37.4 cm), maximum plant spread in A-13 (42.1 cm) and highest number of branches in A-11 (21.6). The accession A-5 took maximum number of days (63.9days) for flowering whereas the minimum number of days for flowering (56.5 days) was taken by accession A-14. Among all the tested accessions, the maximum duration of flowering was recorded in A-5 (96.1 days). Amongst the pansy accessions, A-11 was maximum flower producing (91.1), while A-3 produced the largest flowers (4.8cm) and flower from A-20 had longest stalk (11 cm). Correlation analysis further showed that the number of flowers per plant was affected by plant vegetative traits (plant height,spread and number of branches). Cluster analysis based on morphological data divided the accessions into three groups. These variations might help in classifying pansy for pot cultivation, bedding and exhibition purposes, which could be beneficial for breeders and growers.