The RAPD technique has been successfully used in a variety of taxonomic and genetic diversity studies. The genetic diversity of seven varieties of Foeniculum vulgare has been evaluated using seven random amplified polymorphic DNA primers. A total of 70 clear bands were generated, out of which 35 (50%) were polymorphic. The total number of markers varied from 4 (GCC-181) to 13 (GCC-90 and GCC-132) with a mean of 10 markers per primer. The number of polymorphic markers for each primer varied from 2 (GCC-181) to 7 (GCC-90, GCC-135 and GCC-176) with a mean of 5 polymorphic markers per primer. The amplified product size ranged from 125 to 3968 bp. The PIC values ranged from 0.081 (GCC-81) to 0.281 (GCC-135), with a mean PIC value of 0.202. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficient values ranged from 0.66 to 0.80 with an average of 0.71. A dendrogram constructed based on the UPGMA clustering method, revealed two major clusters. Group-A consisted of two genotypes 1 and 2, where as Group-B could be further classified in to two subgroups Group-I and Group-II. Group-I included genotypes 3, 5 and 6, while Group-II included genotypes 4 and 7. Present study highlights that the high genetic diversity among varieties could be attributed to artificial selection, not natural genetic differentiation.
