Morphological Diversity of 28 Sugarcane Varieties from Thailand Germplasm

Abstract

The development of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) varieties in Thailand is relying on a diversity of genetic resources. The morphological assessment of sugarcane varieties is necessary for future sugarcane breeding programs. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate morphological diversity, and (2) to assess the cluster analysis of 27 morphological characters in 28 sugarcane varieties from five sources of variety: Kasetsart University (KU), Khon Kaen University (KKU), Suphan Buri Field Crops Research Center (SBFCRC), Khon Kaen Field Crops Research Center (KKFCRC) and Office of the Cane and Sugar Board (OCSB). This study was conducted in 2018-19 at the farmer’s field in Bo Thong sub-district, Bang Rakam district, Phitsanulok. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four replications. Each genotype was cultivated 8 - m long plot, consisting of four rows subplots. The length between rows was 1.65 m. There were 16 plants in each row. Eight months after cultivation, 27 morphological characteristics were evaluated and recorded following DUS descriptors. Morphological relationships were clustered by using the agglomerative hierarchical cluster (AHC) analysis method. The results showed that the H_SV ranged 0.43 (OCSB) - 0.56 (KKFCRC). The cluster analysis based on morphotypes can be classified into 4 groups. The first cluster was the biggest group composed of 13 varieties from three sources (OCSB, SBFCRC and KU), followed by the second cluster composed of 12 varieties from five sources (OCSB, SBFCRC, KKU, KKFCRC and KU). The small groups were the third and fourth clusters composed of 2 and 1 varieties from only OCSB sources, respectively. The morphological diversity data from this study can be used as a genetic resource for sugarcane. Therefore, an appropriate conservation strategy should be adopted for these genetic resources for breeding projects in the future.