Genetic Diversity in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L. saccharata) Cultivars Evaluated by Agronomic Traits

Parental cultivars selection and essential broadening of crops based on the genetic diversity need to be interpreted. That is why custodians of gene banks characterized their resources, noting the selected traits. In this investigation 11 sweet corn cultivars were studied in Erzurum, Turkey during 2017 season to characterize the cultivars based on agronomic capacity. Twenty two traits were analyzed using correlation and regression, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. The results showed a positive and significant correlation of the yield of marketable ear (YME) with ear diameter (ED) and number of marketable ear (NME), whereas, it was negatively correlated with 1000 kernel weight (TKW). Fresh kernel yield (FKY) indicated positive and highly significant correlated with ear yield (EY), ear length (EL), number of kernels per row (NK/R) and number of kernels per ear (NK/E). Total soluble sugar content showed negative and significant correlation with green yield (GY) and NK/R. Stepwise regression showed that an increase of FKY, TKW traits leads to the reduction of the YME and FKY. Cluster analysis based on traits classified the genotypes into two groups. The highest genetic distance was shown between Argos and Kompozit Seker cultivars. The results revealed a remarkable variation in morphological and agronomical ability in genetic materials in different genotypes.