Adaptability of Litchi Germplasm in Hilly Areas of Sylhet Agricultural University and Screening their Genetic Variation by Using RAPD Markers

Ten germplasm of litchi were collected from different eco-geographic regions of Bangladesh to evaluate their adaptation in hilly areas and screening the genetic variability both in morphological and molecular characteristics by RAPD markers. The morphological data was conducted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications and found the significant differences at all stages. Among the germplasm, the maximum number of branches per plant (14.33) and number of leaves per plant (66.33) were found in Mongalbaria which were statistically similar to BARI litchi-2 13.67 and 61.67, respectively. The germplasm, Malaysian recorded the highest plant height (68.40 cm) and the lowest trunk diameter (1.77 cm), while China-3 gave the highest trunk diameter (3.23 cm). So, by assessing morphological parameters, Mongalbaria and BARI litchi-2 have a bright prospect for growing under the hilly areas in Sylhet region. In Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers analysis, primer OPB-04 showing good technical resolution and sufficient variation among germplasm and produced a total of 7 RAPD markers of which 6 (85.71%) were considered as polymorphic loci. The highest genetic distance (1.9459) was observed in Bombai vs. Malaysian varietals pair whereas, the lowest genetic distance (0.1234) was estimated in BARI litch-2 vs. BARI litch-3 varietals pair. The UPGMA dendrogram showed that 10 germplasm of litchi could be classified into different groups or clusters according to their genetic similarities and dissimilarities. Two germplasm Bombai and Malaysian were found the highest genetic distance than the others that ultimately helpful for further hybridization program.