Genetic Diversity of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) Landraces from the Center of Origin, Iran

Eighty one Iranian spinach landraces accessions were evaluated for 13 agro-morphological traits. Data from 2 yr experiment of the native accessions were subjected to multivariate analysis using cluster analysis. The dendrogram of cluster analysis in both years revealed eight and nine major groups, respectively. The highest variations were recorded for days to flowering, leaf area, number of lateral branches, 1000-seed weight and leaf yield traits. Twelve genotypes were identified as favorable genotypes due to their high values for most of measured traits, especially leaf yield performance. The observed genetic differences among the investigated landraces are potentially significant to breeding program for obtaining high leaf yield cultivars and it may be achievable through hybridization of the contrasting forms from distinct clusters. The study raised the possibility that selection based on the morphological traits would be advantageous for recognition of highly productive genotype(s).