Numerical analysis of morphological variation of germplasm resources of Dioscorea

OBJECTIVE: Botanical characters of germplasm resources of Dioscorea were observed and compared, which could to offer reference for its genetic improvement, germplasm resource identification and classification. METHOD: Based on field cultivation, twenty-four morphological traits of ninety-four Dioscorea germplasm resources were observed or determined. And the morphological differences among germplasm resources were compared by principal component analysis and cluster analysis. RESULT: There were ample morphological diversity in the twenty-four traits, in especially in leaf size and tuber characters of the ninety-four Dioscorea germplasm resources. The first seven principal components which accounted for 80. 957% of total variance were extracted from the principal component analysis. The ninety-four germplasm resources could be divided into four clusters, which belonging to Dioscorea opposite, D. persimili, D. fordii and D. alata respectively. CONCLUSION: There were large morphological variation among germplasm resources on Dioscorea. Identification of germplasm resources of Dioscorea should focus on leaf size and tuber characters.