Philippine Journal of Science 139 (2): 177-180, December 2010 ISSN 0031 - 7683 Key Words: Cluster Analysis, Morphometric markers, Upland rice *Corresponding author: florence_zapico@yahoo.com florence_zapico@gmail.com 177 Genetic Diversity Analysis of Traditional Upland Rice Cultivars in Kihan, Malapatan, Sarangani Province, Philippines Using Morphometric Markers In situ characterization was carried out for thirty two traditional upland rice cultivars in Kihan, Malapatan, Sarangani Province using ten morpho-agronomic characters at the reproductive stage, as prelude to genetic diversity analysis of the Province’s traditional rice gene pool. Cluster analysis revealed four groups, each group representing a distinct set of morpho-agronomic values, while Principal component analysis, which also sorted the cultivars into four clusters showed two principal components accounting for about 82.7% of total variance observed. Comparison of PCA and dendrogram groupings revealed generally similar trends, though slight inconsistencies were observed in terms of cluster composition. Pearson’s correlation analysis of the morphological traits suggests that these traits are significantly and positively correlated with each other except for the flag leaf angle. Though inconclusive due to susceptibility of the evaluated morphological traits to environmental conditions, this study assessed the overall genetic diversity pattern of traditional upland rice cultivars based on morpho-agronomic variations that can be further subjected to more robust tests involving molecular markers. Florence C. Lasalita-Zapico 1* , Jaime A. Namocatcat 1 , and Josephine L. Cariño-Turner 2 1 Science Department, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Mindanao State University, Fatima, General Santos City 9500 2 Indigenous Peoples Development Program, Office of the Provincial Governor, Provincial Capitol, Alabel, Sarangani Province INTRODUCTION Genetic uniformity among new rice varieties is an alarming situation confronting the rice industry (Morishima and Oka 1995) as it has increased the vulnerability of the rice crop to disease epidemics and insect infestation. Human selection for early maturing and high yielding rice varieties is identified as one factor that had resulted in the loss of genetic variability in farmers’ fields. Before the government introduced the Masagana ‘99 program in the early 70s promoting the use of genetically uniform modern hybrids, about 3,500 traditional rice cultivars were known. With the introduction of these modern, high yielding cultivars, farmers are now planting fewer traditional landraces in their fields (Salazar 1993). Traditional rice cultivars still extant in upland ecosystems may provide the genetic diversity needed to diversify the depauperate gene pool of improved rice varieties. Owing to their adaptation to a wide range of agro-ecological conditions, traditional land races represent tremendous genetic variability not found in modern varieties. These cultivars can therefore be exploited to significantly enhance rice productivity in marginal upland areas. This study assessed the orphological variability of upland rice cultivars in Barangay Kihan, Malapatan, Sarangani Province using uantitative morphological characters. This technique is a low-level yet powerful taxonomic tool that