Evaluation of Genetic Divergence in Indian Flax (linum Usitatissimum L.)

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) belongs to the genus Linum of the family Linaceae commonly known as “Alsi” and has 2n = 30 chromosomes. Linseed is one of the important rabi oilseed crops of India, cultivated in light soil under one or two irrigation in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Orissa and Bihar (Pali and Mehta, 2014). Chhattisgarh is one of the important linseed growing states of India, which accounts for nearly 18.05% area and 15.21% production of country. In Chhattisgarh, linseed is grown on 81.54 thousand hectare area with a productivity of 409 kg/ha (Anonymous, 2014). Improvement in genetic architecture of any crop depends upon the nature and extent of genetic variability required to effect selection in any breeding material.