Curcuma longa L., commonly known as turmeric, is a tropical perennial herb belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. Commonly used as a spice and natural food dye, it is mainly cultivated in Southeast Asia and India appears as the largest producer and exporter. Turmeric is a cross-pollinated, triploid species (2n =3x = 63), which can be vegetatively-propagated using its underground rizhomes. Fifty four turmeric (Curcuma longa) cultivars were evaluated at Jagtial (Andhra Pradesh) by subjecting to D2 statistic to assess the genetic diversity available in the cultivars. The D2 analysis showed wide diversity among the cultivars and they were grouped into six clusters. Inter-cluster distance values also showed wide genetic divergence among the cultivars. Based on cluster-mean values, the cultivars PTS-38 and Duggirala in cluster I (high cured yield), PCT-5 and PCT-8 in cluster III (high curcumin, essential oil and oleoresin contents) and PCT-13, PCT-14 and PCT-10 in cluster IV (short duration, medium yield with good curcumin content) were identified as potential parents for future breeding programmes. The significant genetic diversity in Curcuma germplasm being conserved in the In Vitro Genebank at NBPGR, which also corresponds to that of the morphotypes identified on the basis of morphological markers The purpose of germplasm curators to analyse the genetic diversity of large number of accessions of Curcuma germplasm maintained in field genebanks and thereafter to select the diverse accessions for cost-effective conservation in the In Vitro Genebank for further utilization in crop improvement programmes.

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