Investigation on genetic analysis of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) genotypes using rapd molecular markers

owledge of genetic diversity and relationship among breeding material at molecular level has significant impact on safflower improvement. Genetic diversity of eight parental genotypes of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) was investigated at DNA level with Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) procedure. Forty RAPD primers generated 943 alleles, out of which 679 alleles were found polymorphic, resulting 72.00 per cent polymorphism. The similarity coefficient ranged from 0.42 to 0.76 with an average of 0.59, thus suggesting considerable genetic variation among the safflower genotypes studied.