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Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (33): 51-58.doi: 10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2025-0550

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Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis of Rubber Yield and Agronomic Traits of Taraxacum kok-saghyz in Xinjiang

ZHAO Jing1(), TUHANGULI Tuoheti2, XU Lin2(), GAO Qiang2(), ZHENG Lipeng1, ZHANG Yan2, LUO Youpeng3, YAN Qingqing2, TANG Lisi2, ZULKEYA Manaf2, AYIJIAMALI Keranmu2, YANG Yushuang4, WANG Weiping5   

  1. 1 College of Agriculture, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052
    2 Crop Research Institute, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Central Asian Characteristic Crop Germplasm Resources Medium-Term Gene Bank (Urumqi), Urumqi 830091
    3 College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Yili Normal University, Yining, Xinjiang 835000
    4 Rubber Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Science, Haikou 571101
    5 Urumqi Puzhongqing Agricultural Technology Company Limited, Urumqi 830011
  • Received:2025-07-01 Revised:2025-09-11 Online:2025-11-25 Published:2025-12-01

Abstract:

To identify key factors influencing rubber yield and screen high-yield germplasm of Taraxacum kok-saghyz, 38 accessions from Xinjiang were evaluated for ten agronomic traits, including leaf length, leaf width, plant spread, scape height, root length, root width, fresh leaf weight, fresh root weight, days to initial flowering, and rubber content. Correlation analysis, Principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis were conducted for comprehensive assessment. The results showed that: (1) rubber yield (fresh root weight × rubber content) was significantly correlated with leaf length, root width, and fresh root weight (P < 0.05), but negatively correlated with days of initial flowering. (2) PCA extracted four principal components with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 73.078%, defined as the aboveground morphology factor (leaf length, plant spread; 32.075%), biomass factor (fresh leaf weight, fresh root weight; 16.629%), root system factor (root width; 13.004%), and root length factor (11.370%). The traits were ranked by contribution to yield as follows: root width > root length > leaf length > fresh root weight > fresh leaf weight > plant spread > leaf width > days to initial flowering > scape height > rubber content. (3) Cluster analysis classified the accessions into three groups, with Group II (4 accessions, 10.52%) exhibiting superior performance, showing significantly higher fresh root weight (14.0 ± 1.372 g) and rubber content (8.09 ± 1.100%). (4) Root width, leaf length, and fresh root weight were identified as key indicators for high-yield potential. In conclusion, three accessions (TK57, TK10, TK99) show promise as parental lines for high-yield breeding. These findings provide a theoretical basis for high-yield cultivation and variety development of Taraxacum kok-saghyz.

Key words: Taraxaxcum kok-saghyz, agronomic traits, rubber yield, principal component analysis, cluster analysis