Multivariate analysis of agronomic traits of new corn hybrids (Zea maize L.)

The present study was conducted to characterize new maize hybrids (34 hybrids) using multivariate traits, in Khorasan Razavi Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Center, Mashhad, I.R. Iran during 2009. The hybrids consisted of 28 maize hybrids which were obtained from 18 famous open pollinated populations and 6 Iranian hybrids of single cross groups. The data collected on 21 characters were subjected to multivariate analysis to study variability within the hybrids. Significant variations were observed among hybrids in measured characteristics. According to principal component analysis, seven principal components (PC) had Eigen values >1 and accounted for 85.12% of the total variance in the data. The proportions of the total variance attributable to the first three PC were 24, 18 and 14%. PC1 showed a significant correlation with most traits except Total Leaves No., Upper Leaves No., Ear No. in Plant, Row No./Ear, Cob Percentage/Ear and Kernel Percentage/Ear. The results obtained from the factor analysis identified 21 factors out of which only seven were extracted which explained 85.12% of the variance among the entries. Based on cluster analysis, the 34 new corn hybrids were separated into seven major groups each having two or more subgroups. The correlation analysis between agronomic traits was found to be significant between almost all the traits. Based on the present results it was recommended to make crosses among genotypes in Clus3, Clus5 and Clus7 in breeding programs.