Morphological variability of red head cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L. subvar. rubra) populations

Abstract

Red head cabbage is among the significant winter vegetables largely produced in various parts of the world and Turkey. This study was conducted for morphological characterization of red head cabbage populations supplied from different gene banks of the world and to determine similarities and differences among the genotypes. Morphological characteristics of the genotypes were defined in accordance with the criteria of International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IBPGR). Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate variations in 27 traits of red head cabbage populations. The first nine principal component axes accounted for 73.96% of the total multivariate variation among the populations. The first principal component (PC1) were the most important component and red head cabbage traits that constitute the PC1 (plant diameter, weight of head, length of head, diameter of head and head volume) were in fact the characteristics considered by breeders to be of greatest importance in cabbage breeding. Experimental data were also subjected to cluster analysis and it was observed that red head cabbage populations were clustered in eight groups. The dendrogram generated to assess the similarities of the populations revealed a high variation among the genotypes. These results are very important for hybrid red head cabbage breeding studies and can help breeders to select genotypes with the desired traits in redhead cabbage.