Thirty-four soybean lines were assessed for twelve traits. The genetic distances were estimates using multivariate techniques, to identify parents to be included in breeding programs for hybridization. Grouping by the Tocher method, from generalized Mahalanobis distances, divided the 34 lines into four groups. The most important agronomic traits, weight of seeds per plot, plant height, height of first pod and days to maturity were considered when recommending for crossing. The following crosses were recommended based on the genetic divergence and the key agronomic traits: lines 23, 10, 2, 27 and 25 (group I) with genotype 6 (group II) and genotype 16 (group III). Thus only ten crosses would be made, representing only 2% of the total crosses which could be made in the partial diallel among the 34 lines assessed, which would allow up to 561 combinations.
soybean; genetic divergence; Mahalanobis; multivariate analysis
