IntroductionAllium L. is one of the most economically important genera of plants. Onion (Allium cepa L.), garlic (A. sativum L.), and leek (A. porrum L.) are among the major crops of the world. Besides these, there are some minor Allium crops like A. tuberosum Rottl. and A. stracheyi Baker. Many Allium species are used as foods, spices, and herbal remedies in widespread areas of the world (Krest et al., 2000). These crops possess a wide range of bioactive compounds, especially volatile sulphur compounds (Krest et al., 2000), which help to reduce blood lipids and cholesterol as well as platelet activity, which ultimately lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases (Sainani et al., 1976;Kendler 1987;Augusti, 1990).Allium is a very large genus with about 750 species (Stearn, 1992). Classification of such a large genus proved to be difficult (Hanelt, 1990). Many ambiguities remain in the phylogeny of Allium (Fritsch & Friesen, 2002). Additionally, there is great morphological diversity at the intraspecific level in Allium cepa, A. sativum, and A. porrum. These variations should be measured at the molecular level for their proper characterisation, which ultimately will be beneficial for future breeding programmes.DNA-based molecular markers have been used previously in studies of genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis in plants (Savolainen & Chase, 2003;Nybom, 2004). Among the different molecular markers, RAPD has been widely used for the assessment of genomic variation and genetic diversity studies in plants like Lathyrus L.