Correlation and principal component analysis for agronomic traits of wild soybean in cold region

In order to select promising traits among wild soybean germplasm as hybrid parents in soybean breeding, we conducted a principal component analysis for 9 agronomic traits in 204 genotypes of wild soybean.The results showed that variation coefficient ranged from 14.0% to 71.4%, and diversity index ranged from 1.46 to 2.06.Twenty-seven specific genotypes were screened out, and eight genotypes were with more than 2 specific traits.Significant correlations existed between seed weight per plant and other traits (except unproductive pods).Significant correlations existed between 100-seed weight and other traits (except internode length).Significant correlations existed between productive pods per plant and other traits (except branch number).Significant correlation existed between seeds per plant and other traits (except branch number and unproductive pods).Principal component analysis showed that the first three principal components were with more than 73% of cumulative contribution, effectively explaining the total variation of agronomic traits of wild soybean.