Multivariate analysis of diversity of tetraploid wheat germplasm from ethiopia

The variability of 2420 plants of tetraploid (2n = 4x = 28, AABB genome) wheat germplasm representing 121 accessions from Ethiopia were evaluated for 23 agro-morphological traits at Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center area, Akaki substation, during the 2003 main season using multivariate methods. This enabled to assess the extent and pattern of variation of the germplasm with respect to regions, altitude classes and species and to identify the major traits contributing to the diversity. The first three and two principal components explained about 83 and 80% of the total variance among regions and altitudinal class, respectively. In the first principal component plant height, days to heading, the length and density of the spike, and kernel color were the most important traits contributing to variation that explained about 50% of regional variance. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into 15 clusters, with 9 accessions remaining ungrouped. Based on the observed patterns of variation, it is concluded that there exists great variation in the germplasm, which provides opportunities to be utilized for genetic improvement.