Diversity in nutritional composition of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. L. var. cicla) accessions revealed by multivariate analysis

Abstract

Mineral concentration levels in cultivated vegetables have received very little concern in the context of biodiversity despite the fact that most vegetables have a rich micronutrient composition. Swiss chard is an important salad crop which is high yielding and rich in minerals, vitamins and phenolic compounds. It is also extremely easy to grow. However, there is a lack of information on the genetic variability of mineral concentration of Swiss chard. Mineral composition diversity of 54 genetically diverse Swiss chard accessions, representative of all Turkish Swiss chard genetic resources, was investigated using multivariate analysis. These traits are useful in evaluating germplasm diversity in the nutritional concentration context and for use in further breeding programmes which will focus on improving mineral concentrations in Swiss chard cultivars. The results displayed significant differences among accessions and remarkably high nutrient contents. The data gathered were analyzed using principal components (PCs) and cluster analysis and revealed five major groupings. The data also observed 74.39% of total variation. The first three PCs accounted for 49.86% of the total variation in the population. Present values provided great variability among accessions and the results demonstrate that it is possible to identify genetic differentiation among Swiss chard accession for some nutritional elements. The genetic resources that exist indicate that potentially important accessions could be used as a gene source due to their high levels of K, Ca, Cu and Zn in breeding programmes.