With the objective of evaluating the viability of the programme of recurrent selection with popcorn of the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro carried out in Campos dos Goytacazes and Itaocara, state of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 40 families that originated the second cycle were evaluated for 14 morphoagronomical characteristics and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, using multivariate analysis. The analyses of variance revealed the existence of variability for most evaluated morphoagronomic traits. Clustering by Tocher's optimization method for the morphoagronomic traits of Campos dos Goytacazes formed eight groups and 16 for those of Itaocara. For the RAPD markers, 18 groups of S1 families were formed by Ward's clustering method. It is concluded that there is genetic divergence in the selected families, which allows the inference that there is sufficient variability for the continuity of the recurrent selection process with the formation of new cycles.
