Correlations among Agronomic Traits Obtained from Sorghum Accessions Planted in a Field Infected with Three Important Fungal Diseases

Abstract

A total of 179 sorghum cultivars planted in replicated plots in Isabela, Puerto Rico, were evaluated for five agronomically important traits grain yield, seed weight, panicle height, panicle length, and flowering time. This study identified the top cultivars in each trait through statistical analysis. In a previous study, the reaction of the same cultivars to anthracnose, rust, grain mold, and germination rates was determined. Combining the five traits in this study and the previous four measured traits, a correlation analysis among the nine traits was conducted. The results revealed that there are significant correlations between a few paired traits. Correlations such as panicle height and rust infection (Spearman’s ρ= 0.36), panicle height and grain mold infection (Spearman’s ρ= -0.30), germination rate and panicle height (Pearson’s r= 0.31), germination rate and panicle length (Pearson’s r= 0.27), panicle length and panicle height (Pearson’s r= 0.52), flowering time and panicle height (Pearson’s r= 0.65), and flowering time and panicle length (Pearson’s r= 0.50) were found.