Multivariate Analysis, Genetic Diversity and Phenotypic Correlation of Nineteen Exotic Groundnut Accessions

19 Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) genotypes received from International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) India were evaluated in a non replicated trial and the characters were subjected to multivariate analysis to study the variability within the genotypes. The first 5 axes of the principal component analysis captured 78% of the total variability and identified yield parameters such as number of pods per plant, pod weight per plant and growth parameters such as number of branches per plant, plant spread, and pod characteristics as the characters contributing most to total variation. Phenotypic correlation analysis revealed that the yield has positive correlation with the characters such as number of pods per plant and number of branches per plant. Wards clustering method has grouped the genotypes into 3 distinct clusters. The results can be applied in order to strengthen the breeding program