Multivariate Analysis of Nutritional Diversity in Sorghum Landrace Accessions from Western Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, sorghum is grown for food and cash income by subsistence farmers. The study was conducted at the experimental farm of the Agricultural Research Council, Grain Crops Institute at Potchefstroom, South Africa. A total of 31 sorghum landrace accessions were used for chemical analysis. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of genetic diversity in nutritional composition of sorghum landraces from western Ethiopia. Sorghum whole grains were analyzed for crude protein, total starch and its component and mineral profile (calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, manganese, zinc and sodium). The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that the first four principal components contributed 71.77% of the variability among sorghum landrace accessions. Mineral elements such as zinc, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and protein contributed more divergence to the first Principal Component (PC1), while iron, sodium and calcium contributed to the second Principal Component (PC2). Cluster analysis of mineral elements, protein, total starch and sugar contents resulted in five distinct groups of accessions with genetic distances ranging from 0.78-1.52. Therefore, the chemical compositions provide a useful measure of genetic divergence among sorghum landrace accessions to identify potential donors or parental lines for future sorghum quality improvement effort.