Genetic variation of biochemical characteristics of selected sorghum varieties from East Africa

A total of 30 sorghum varieties from East Africa were analysed for their biochemical characteristics. The objective was to ascertain the extent of the genetic diversity underlying their biochemical and physiological characteristics that included starch (%), amylose (%), amylopectin (%), proteins (%), tannins (mg/100 ml), yield (Kg/ha) and height (cm). The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first two contributed to the 69.66% of the variability among the sorghum varieties. Cluster analysis of these parameters resulted into four distinct groups with a genetic distance ranging from 0.74 - 6.42. The open pollinated and the hybrids showed the greatest genetic distances while the hybrids exhibited relatively low genetic distances. The biochemical content is a useful tool for measuring the genetic divergence among sorghum varieties to identify possible donors for future sorghum quality enhancement/breeding.