Principal Component Analysis of Morphological and Physiological Traits in Mustard (Brassica juncea) in Semi-arid Condition of Rajasthan

Mustard (Brassica spp.) is a vital oilseed crop with significant variability in key morphological, physiological, and yield-related traits, offering substantial scope for genetic improvement. This study employed descriptive statistics and principal component analysis (PCA) to analyze different traits. The first two components accounted for 59.8% of the total variability, with PC1 (51.5%) emphasizing growth traits like days to maturity and PC2 (8.2%) highlighting quality traits such as oil content and 1000-seed weight. Genotypes such as IC 122449 and its hybrids showed promise for early maturity and biomass accumulation, while PM 28 x EC 766136 excelled in yield and quality traits. Correlation analysis revealed key relationships, including a negative correlation between days to flowering and seed yield (-0.396) and positive correlations for drought-resilience traits like relative water content (0.52) and proline content (0.507) with yield. These findings underscore the importance of integrating multi-trait analysis for breeding stress-tolerant, high-yielding, and quality-rich mustard varieties.