Genetic divergence among six Leghorn lines (L1, L2, L3, L4, L5 e L6), developed by Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil, was evaluated using canonical variate analysis and grouping method of Tocher. Eight traits were used: body weight at 40 weeks, at 48 weeks, at 56 weeks; egg weight at 40 weeks, at 44 weeks, at 52 weeks, at 60 weeks and laying ratio from 40 to 62 weeks of age. Significant differences were observed among lines for the studied traits. The line L4 was divergent in comparison with the other ones, showed the smallest canonical mean and was allocated in a different group. The performance of different genetic groups was also evaluated by multivariate analysis of variance, using Roy test of the largest eigenvalue and the Roy principle for multiple comparisons. Genetic divergence among UFV's lines was observed and body weight at 40 weeks was the trait that more contributed for this divergence.
Laying hens; genetic divergence; canonical variables; grouping analysis
