Evaluation of Genetic Diversity of Agronomic and Morphological Traits of Sesame Genotypes

Success in a breeding program and selection programs depends on two factors of genetic diversity and effective selection of desirable genotypes. Therefore, studying the genetic diversity for traits and the use of this diversity is important for genetic improvement of the traits. In order to study the genetic diversity of yield and its components and some of the morphological and phonological traits, and to identify the important factors affecting yield, 91 new imported sesame genotypes with 3 checks ( Naztakshakhe, Oltan and Yellow-white) were studied in an augmented design and six blocks in Seed and Plant Improvement Research Institute, Karaj, Iran, in 2016. The studied genotypes showed good diversity for most of the traits, because the studied genotypes were from different geographic regions. Traits of number of capsules per branch, seed yield per plant, number of branches and total number of capsules per plant had the highest phenotypic variation coefficient. The results of factor analysis showed that six factors explained 82.7% of the data variation. These factors were named according to the traits that were included under the titles of performance characteristics and its components, capsule characteristics, phonological properties, seed quality characteristics, height factor and germination strength factor. The evaluated genotypes were classified into five groups based on cluster analysis for all evaluated traits. The results of cluster analysis showed that the grouping of genotypes were not related to geographical distribution of genotypes and most genotypes were grouped based on morphological differences. Canonical Discriminate Function via Fisher's linear method was able to confirm 95.7 percent of the validity of clustering analysis result. The four functions explained about 100% of variances among genotypes. In general, it can be concluded that new imported genotypes of sesame have a good variation for most traits and this variety can be used in breeding programs. In summary,  Margo, Bukbak, Black chil sung, Q21115 (shattering selection) and Jungkyung genotypes have a good potential for increasing grain yield and can be used in future breeding programs.