## 3 Results
### Genetic Diversity Analysis  
Genetic diversity assessment is an important parameter and forms the basis for the conservation of plant genetic resources. In the present study, DNA fingerprint profiles were developed using 12 ISSR markers. In total, 5-10 bands were generated per primer (an average of 7.16 bands/primer) with an average size ranging from 400 to 3000 bp. Among the 86 developed bands, 58 (67.44%) were polymorphic and 28 (32.55%) were monomorphic, reflecting rich genetic diversity in the sampled populations. Primer UBC841 and UBC842 exhibited the maximum number of polymorphic bands (7 amplicons each), with polymorphism percentages of 77.77% and 70%, respectively, and primer UBC880 showed the lowest polymorphism percentage of 40% (Figure S5). The percentage of polymorphism for various primers ranged from 40 to 80%. Among the 12 selected primers, 7 exhibited more than 70% polymorphism (Table 4). Analysis of the ISSR data revealed that the group of accessions (CIN-BM) showed the lowest frequency of percentage polymorphic bands (PPBs) (31.40%), whereas the group of accessions (CIN-PU) exhibited the highest frequency of PPBs (68.60%) with an average of 47.51% as shown in Table 5. Similarly, [PERSON]'s genetic diversity (\(H\)) and [PERSON]'s information indices of phenotypic diversity (\(I\)) were lowest for the group of accessions of CIN-BM (\(H\) = 0.115 \(\pm\) 0.019; \(I\) = 0.173 \(\pm\) 0.028) and highest for the group of accessions of CIN-PU (\(H\) = 0.222 \(\pm\) 0.018; \(I\) = 0.343 \(\pm\) 0.027). The average values of [PERSON]'s genetic diversity (\(H\)) and [PERSON]'s information indices of phenotypic diversity (\(I\)) were \(H\) = 0.160 \(\pm\) 0.007 and \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**S. No.**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Primer Used**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Nucleotide Sequence (5/-3’)**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Annealing**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Number of**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Number of**} & **Number of** \\  & & & & & **Polymorphic** \\  & & & & & **Bands** \\ \hline
1. & UBC827 & ACACACACACACACAG & 53.0 & 7 & 5 & 71.42 \\
2. & UBC834 & AGAGAGAGAGAGAGY & 49.2 & 8 & 6 & 75 \\
3. & UBC840 & GAGAGAGAGAGAGY & 47.4 & 8 & 4 & 50 \\
4. & UBC841 & GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGY & 48.5 & 9 & 7 & 77.77 \\
5. & UBC842 & GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGY & 48.8 & 10 & 7 & 70 \\
6. & UBC855 & ACACACACACACACACACY & 53.1 & 8 & 5 & 62.5 \\
7. & UBC856 & ACACACACACACACACACYA & 52.8 & 5 & 4 & 80 \\
8. & UBC857 & ACACACACACACACAC & 54.3 & 5 & 3 & 60 \\
9. & UBC861 & ACACACACACACACAC & 60.6 & 6 & 4 & 66.66 \\
10. & UBC880 & GGAGAGAGAGAGAGAG & 47.9 & 5 & 2 & 40 \\
11. & UBC884 & HBHAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAG & 46.1 & 7 & 5 & 71.42 \\
12. & UBC888 & BDBCACACACACACACAC & 52.4 & 8 & 6 & 75 \\ \hline \multicolumn{5}{c}{Average} & & 7.16 & 4.83 & 67.45 \\ \multicolumn{5}{c}{Total} & & 86 & 58 & 67.44 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 4: ISSR primers used, polymorphic bands, and polymorphism percentage detected in the present study. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multicolumn{1}{c}{**S. No.**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Collection Site**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**Altitude (m)**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**pH**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**SOC (\%)**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**N (\%)**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**P (mg/kg)**} & \multirow{2}{*}{**K (mg/kg)**} \\ \hline
1. & Bandipora & 1554 & 8.21 & 2.334 & 0.221 & 210 & 54 \\
2. & Baramullah & 1593 & 7.2 & 2.437 & 0.426 & 280 & 55 \\
3. & Srinagar & 1620 & 6.9 & 2.611 & 0.660 & 315 & 60 \\
4. & Anantnag & 1790 & 7.5 & 2.891 & 0.373 & 355 & 65 \\
5. & Pulwama & 1877 & 6.49 & 3.210 & 0.432 & 380 & 70 \\
6. & Budgam & 1901 & 7.21 & 3.253 & 0.353 & 395 & 72 \\
7. & Ganderbal & 2172 & 7 & 4.792 & 0.432 & 440 & 96 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Composition of soil at different altitudes in the Kashmir region. \(I\) = 0.244 \(\pm\) 0.011 as depicted in Table 5. A significant amount of genetic differentiation was observed based on the results obtained from [PERSON]'s genetic diversity within and among the groups of accessions.