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Analysis of genetic diversity is important for plant breeders to breed new and improved cultivars with desirable characteristics. Since DNA-based molecular markers are not affected by environmental factors, they can be utilized to assess genetic diversity among species and to develop molecular markers for breeding programmes. Out of the 25 Cenchrus species, only eight are available in the Indian germplasm collections, and only four of them are grown in sown pastures for their high forage value, while the remaining four species are used for basic and applied studies. This study aimed at assessing genetic diversity and relatedness of the apomictic and sexual Cenchrus species available in the Indian germplasm collection using AFLP-based molecular markers. Based on the genetic dissimilarity matrix phylogenetic analysis, 36 accessions of eight Cenchrus species were observed to be clustered in four …