Classification Of Sorghum Germplasm Accessions Using Multivariate Methods

Abstract

Two multivariate methods were used to classify 352 accessions of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) originating from Nigeria and Chad. The study revealed the existence of a considerable range of variability within the cultivated sorghums for 13 traits studied. Days to flowering represented 64.8% of the total variation observed within the 352 accessions. Based on flowering, three groups were formed consisting of early, medium and late flowering accessions. Eight clusters were formed in each flowering group following Mahalanobis D2 analysis. The accession numbers in each cluster are listed for possible seed requests from sorghum breeders. Principal components analysis indicated that plant height, panicle length and floaters (%) contributed most towards genetic divergence among the accessions studied. Clustering pattern revealed that geographic diversity, though important, is not the only factor responsible for determining genetic divergence. The implications of this study to sorghum breeding are summarised