Phenotypic diversity and adaptability analysis of 228 accessions of introduced garlic genetic resources

Authors: DU, Z - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; LI, X - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; SONG, J - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WU, Y - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHAO, Q - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; XU, T - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, X - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Hellier (ctr), Barbara; Hu, Jinguo; WANG, H - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Genetic Resources
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/3/2019
Publication Date: 4/12/2019
Citation: Du, Z.Z., Li, X.X., Song, J.P., Wu, Y.H., Zhao, Q., Xu, T., Zhang, X.H., Hellier, B.C., Hu, J., Wang, H.P. 2019. Phenotypic diversity and adaptability analysis of 228 accessions of introduced garlic genetic resources. Journal of Plant Genetic Resources. https://doi.org/10.13430/j.cnki.jpgr.20190119001.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13430/j.cnki.jpgr.20190119001

Interpretive Summary: The garlic research group at the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China requested garlic germplasm from us and evaluated the introduced accessions under their enivironment following our advice. The phenotypic data collected included plant height, plant width, average number of leaves per plant, average leaf length and width, bulb height, width and weight. The data from harvested bulbs and bulbs used for planting were also compared. The analysis of the data showed that these garlic varieties can be placed into 3 groups based on how they look when grown in Beijing in high tunnels: group 1, small slender plants; group 2, small bulbs with high spherical shape; group 3, large plants and large bulbs. These garlic varieties also showed a high amount of variability in how well they adapted to being grown in Beijing. The data from this study will be included in the NPGS database, GRIN-Global.

Technical Abstract: The phenotypic diversity and adaptability of 228 introduced garlic (Allium sativum L.) germplasm accessions originated from 34 countries were evaluated in the present study. The field trial was performed at the national germplasm repository for vegetables. The coefficient of variation of 13 quantitative traits ranged from 18.94% to 56.36%. These genotypes represented visible variations on all qualitative traits except leaf shape. The diversity index of 25 traits varied from 0 to 2.03, indicating that the introduced garlic germplasm maintained high levels of genetic diversity. The clustering analysis of 228 accessions revealed three groups. The accessions within group I showed small and slender plants, short and thin leaves, and low quality bulbs. The group II was comprised of those accessions that the transverse diameter of bulbs were small, and bulbs were less and the bulbs shape were high spherical. The accessions in group III mostly exhibited tall and big plants, long and wide leaves, and heavy and large bulbs. The first three principal components explained 69.94% of phenotypic variation. The bulb weight was found to be significantly and positively correlated with bulb diameter, bulb height, height of scale buds (cloves) and width of scale buds (cloves). Furthermore, these accessions were variable on adaptability by comparing the measurements of bulb-related traits before planting with that of after harvest. Thus, these results will provide benefits for breeders and researchers in order to take use of the germplasm accessions in breeding programs.