Phenotypic Diversity of Wild Astragalus polycladus Resources

Abstract

Abstract To explore the phenotypic diversity of wild Astragalus polycladus resources, 150 wild Astragalus polycladus resources from 6 regions of Qinghai Province were used as materials, and 18 phenotypic traits were analyzed. The results showed that Astragalus polycladus had abundant phenotypic diversity in Qinghai Province, and the coefficient of variation of 18 phenotypic traits ranged from 1%-23%. Among them, the fertile tillers’ coarseness, fertile tillers’ length, and crown width are the most variable characteristics. Correlation analysis showed that there were significant or extremely significant correlations among other traits except for root number and stem length. At the same time, the phenotypic traits of Astragalus polycladus were related to latitude and longitude, altitude, and soil pH, and different traits were affected by different geographical factors, among which the corolla number was the most affected. Four principal components with eigenvalues greater than 1 were selected by principal component analysis, and the cumulative contribution rate was 77.151%, which contained most of the information about the phenotypic traits of Astragalus multicladus. Crown width and plant height had the greatest influence on the phenotypic traits diversity of Astragalus polycladus. These results indicate that the phenotypic traits of Astragalus polycladus resources in Qinghai Province are rich in diversity and have great potential for exploitation and utilization. This study provided a scientific basis for the breeding and preservation of superior germplasm resources of Astragalus polycladus.