Morphological, biochemical and SSR marker based genetic diversity and identification of trait-specific accessions in exotic germplasm collection of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Characterization and evaluation of genetic base of exotic collections of germplasm hastens the process of crop breeding. Exotic collections of 25 tomato germplasm accessions along with a local check ‘Vaibhav’ were characterized at morphological, biochemical and DNA marker level in the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. Both morphometric and biochemical trait data divided the accessions into five clusters by model-based K-means cluster analysis. Accessions EC-620481 and EC-620554 were found highly diverse and promising to broaden the genetic base of breeding stocks in tomato. SSR marker based genetic parameter estimates inferred lower genetic differences at marker loci. However, UPGMA classification displayed similar kind of diversity as exhibited at morphometric level. Traits specific accessions identified have potential to accelerate trait specific breeding for economically important traits. This investigation resulted in the identification of such potential accessions for their use in commercial tomato breeding.