Comprehensive Evaluation of 14 Elymus sibiricus Germplasm Resources
The aim of this study was to objectively evaluate the production performance and quality of Elymus sibiricus germplasm resources.In this study,12 production performance indicators and 5 nutritional composition indicators of 14 Elymus sibiricus germplasms were measured,and statistical analyses were carried out using coefficients of variation,correlation,and principal component analysis,with comprehensive evaluation conducted by membership function analysis.The results showed that the coefficients of variation of 14 production performance and nutritional components,including stem diameter,node number of stem,seed width,thousand-grain weight,plant height,number of tillers,the ratio of fresh to dry mass,leaf-to-stem ratio,fresh yield,hay yield,seed yield,content of crude protein,ash content,and content of ether extract,were all greater than 10%.The maximum coefficient of variation of hay yield was 31.75%,while the minimum coefficient of variation of neutral detergent fiber was 3.38%.The number of tillers was significantly correlated with fresh grass yield,while the leaf-to-stem ratio was significantly correlated with the content of ether extract,and various indicators would restrict each other.Principal component analysis classified 18 indicators into six principal components,with a cumulative contribution rate of 86.65%.E4,E5,E7,and E10,which exhibited the best overall performance,were selected based on the comprehensive evaluation using membership function analysis,which could be used as candidate parents or core germplasms for breeding.