Genetic Diversity Analysis of Agronomic and Economic Traits in Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

In this study, the genetic diversity of 213 flue-cured tobacco germplasms derived from domestic and overseas origins was investigated and measured via multiple statistical analyses of 13 phenotypic traits to provide initial knowledge and a better understanding of the genetic diversity of these germplasms and to provide useful information for cultivar improvement in flue-cured tobacco breeding programs. The results showed that the 231 tobacco materials exhibited high genetic variation in several traits, such as acre output (AO), acre yield (AY), ratio of mid-high grade leaves (RMhGL), internode length (IL), topping height (TH) and effective leaf number (ELN), with coefficients of variation ranging from 4.49% to 67.45%, with an average of 23.33%. Correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation among 9 agronomic traits as well as the 4 economic traits. Principal component analysis revealed that 12 phenotypic traits could be summarized by 5 factors, including leaf number factor, leaf size and stem circumference factor, and plant height factor. Cluster analysis revealed that domestic and foreign flue-cured tobacco resources clustered into 3 groups, and the various taxa exhibited highly significant differences in terms of agronomic and economic traits.