Assessment of genetic variation in peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars using Canonical Discriminant Analysis

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the sources of genetic and phenotypic variability of peanut varieties. 15 morphological and agronomic traits were measured on 39 peanut varieties. These traits include oil yield, 100 grain weight, 100 pod weight, grain length, grain width, pod length, pod width, grains in pod, grain: pod weight ratio, grain: pod volume ratio, oil%, pods per plant, leaflet length, leaflet width and leaflet length: width ratio. The multivariate data set was analyzed by Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) in combination with a clustering procedure. In this analysis, the first two canonical variates were significant and canonical variates indicated that 100 grain weight, oil yield, 100 pod weight, grain: pod volume ratio and pods per plant are the most differentiating traits among the varieties. The canonical variates were used to cluster the varieties into three subgroups. Canonical Discriminant Analysis was useful in identifying the genetic variation and the traits that better describe the variation among Peanut varieties. Cluster analysis was successful in differentiating the varieties into similar subgroups on the basis of the measured traits. Key words: Peanut, genetic variation, Canonical Discriminant Analysis.