Evaluation and Grouping of Sugar Beet Breeding Genotypes Under Normal and Drought Stress Conditions Using Multivariate Statistical Methods

Seperated experiments were carried out at Motahari Research Station of Karaj, in order to ranking and grouping the different fullsibs and hybrids obtained from sugar beet breeding programs under drought stress and normal conditions. Accordingly, 17 and 28 different fullsib and hybrids respectively, along with resistant and sensitive cultivars, were examined for different yield, qualitative and physiological traits in separate experiments in dry and normal conditions. The results of the ranking showed that fullsibs 1, 2, 4 and control cultivars 18, 22 and 25 in drought conditions and and fullsib 16 and control cultivars 18 and 22 were superior in normal conditions compared to the rest of the full sibs. Each population of Fullsibs and hybrids was divided into two distinct groups. Fullsibs grouping were very similar in two conditions. But in hybrids, there was no significant association between the grouping of normal and stressed conditions. Based on principal component analysis, under stress conditions, fullsibs 3, 4, 5, 9, and 14, and under normal conditions, fullsibs 10, 18, 16, 1, 2, 6 and 8 were better in terms of yield traits. In hybrids, under stress conditions, hybrids 7, 10, 20, 5 and 11 were somewhat better in terms of root and sugar yield. In contrast, in normal conditions, hybrids 2, 17, 6, 25, 7, 9, 21, 27, 4, 13, 19 and control 30 were somewhat weaker in terms of yield traits, but for leaf area and relative water content traits, were superior.