Identification of High Biomass Sweet Sorghum Varieties Using Multivariate Analysis Lesty Ayu Bidhari (a), Suwarti (a*), Sigit Budi Santoso (a), Karlina Syahruddin (a), and Fatmawati (a)
a) Research Center for Food Crops, National Research and Innovation Agency Republic of Indonesia (BRIN), Jalan Raya Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong 16911, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.
*suwa023[at]brin.go.id
Abstract
Genotype selection in the development of new sweet sorghum varieties is essential to identify the best accessions for cultivation as new superior varieties. This study aimed to evaluate 55 candidate sweet sorghum accessions based on their agronomic characters, inter-character relationships, and to select key traits for genotype selection. The experiment employed an augmented design within a randomized complete block design with 55 non-replicated test genotypes and five replicated check genotypes. The results revealed that accession 106(1) exhibited the highest biomass weight (854 g per plant) and accession 33(2) produced the highest juice volume (322 ml). The strongest correlation between observation characters and the main character of sorghum biomass was observed for plant internode length (r=0.84*), while the greatest correlation value with the main character of juice volume was obtained for stalk diameter (r=0.53). Almost all observation characters exhibited high (r>0.50) and significant correlation values. Based on dendrogram analysis, sorghum accessions were grouped into four clusters. Cluster 1 consisted of accessions that died during the experiment, cluster 2 contained accessions with high biomass, cluster 3 comprised accessions with lower biomass and juice volume, and cluster 4 included accessions with intermediate yields. Heatmap analysis indicated that juice volume and biomass characters formed clusters of accessions with distinct yields. Consequently, these two characters can be utilized as primary traits in sweet sorghum selection. Accessions 4(1), 112(3), 49(1), 31(1), 21(2), 33(2), and 106(1) demonstrated promising potential for development as new superior sweet sorghum varieties.
