Vol. 9, Special Issue 10, Part G (2025)

An investigation entitled “Analysis of Genetic Diversity of Petunia (Petunia hybrida Vilm.) Genotypes for Morpho-Physiological and Seed Yield Attributes” was carried out during 2024-25 at the College of Horticulture, Mudigere (KSNUAHS, Shivamogga). The trial was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 20 genotypes, namely Petunia Debonair Black Cherry, Petunia Dreams, Petunia Daddy Peppermint, Petunia Dreams Picotee, Petunia Red Picotee, Petunia Rose Picotee, Petunia Daddy, Tritunia Star, Petunia Mirage Star, Supercascade Black Berry, Supercascade Burgundy, Petunia Lime Bicolor, Petunia Black, Supercascade Red, Supercascade Blue, Supercascade Pink, Supercascade Rose, Supercascade White, Petunia Debonair Lime Green, and Supercascade Green, each replicated three times. Seedlings at the fourth true-leaf stage were transplanted at a spacing of 30 × 30 cm. Data on morphological traits were recorded from five randomly tagged plants per plot. Considerable variability among genotypes was evident for all the traits studied. Among them, Supercascade Green registered the highest values for number of leaves per plant (158.78), number of branches per plant (19.80), leaf length (5.97 cm), leaf width (4.02 cm), leaf area (13.50 cm² per plant), leaf area index (2.38), trichome (108.80), chlorophyll a (3.53 mg/g), chlorophyll b (2.61 mg/g) and total chlorophyll (5.14 mg/g). Petunia Black showed maximum plant height (28.13 cm), plant spread in North- South direction (26.77 cm) and anthocyanin content (4.99 mg/g). Based on overall performance, Supercascade Green, Petunia Black and Supercascade Pink were identified as superior genotypes.