Canonical Discriminant Analysis for the Assessment of Genetic Variation in Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill)

For improvement of soybean, it is necessary to gain insight into the magnitude of variability present in the species. The study was conducted to assess sources of genetic and phenotypic variability in 62 soybean varieties. Seventeen morphological, agronomical and quality characters were measured. The multivariate data set was analyzed by Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA) in combination with a clustering procedure. In this analysis, the first four canonical varieties were significant and, number of pods/plant was the most differentiating traits among the varieties. The canonical roots clustered the varieties into eighteen groups on the basis of the differentiating traits. CDA effectively analyzed the genetic variation and identified the traits that could better describe the variation among soybean genotypes. Cluster analysis was successful in differentiating the varieties into similar subgroups on the basis of the measured traits.