Revista Mexicana Ciencias Agrícolas   volume 13   number 8   November 12 - December 31, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v13i8.2647

Article

Agronomic characterization of Salvia hispanica L. germplasm

Andrés Xingú-López1

Andrés González-Huerta2

Eulogio de la Cruz-Torres3

Dora Ma. Sangerman-Jarquín4

Salvador Montes-Hernandez5

Martín Rubí-Arriaga

1Doctoral Program in Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources-Faculty of Agricultural Sciences-Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. The Hill, White Stones, Toluca, Mexico. ZC. 50200. (andrésxl2000@yahoo.com.mx).

2Faculty of Agricultural Sciences-Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. The Hill, White Stones, Toluca, Mexico. ZC. 50200. (agonzalezh@uaemex.mx).

3Department of Biology-National Institute for Nuclear Research. Mexico-Toluca highway s/n, La Marquesa, Ocoyoacac, Mexico. ZC. 52750. (eulogio.delacruz@inin.gob.mx)

4Valley of Mexico Experimental Field-INIFAP. Los Reyes-Texcoco highway km 13.5, Coatlinchán, Texcoco, State of Mexico. ZC. 56250. Tel. 55 38718700, ext. 85353. (sangerman.dora@inifap.gob.mx).

 5Bajío Experimental Field-INIFAP. Celaya-San Miguel de Allende highway km 6.5, Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico. ZC. 38110. (montes.salvador@inifap.gob.mx).

§Corresponding author: m-rubi65@yahoo.com.mx.

Abstract

Salvia hispanica L. (chia) is an herbaceous plant native to Mexico, belongs to the Lamiaceae family. The crop was banned and replaced by other cereals during the Conquest. Due to the nutritional content and nutraceutical properties it possesses, it has been reintroduced and is currently considered a highly nutritious potential food. The area sown is increased annually, the cultivated materials are usually local or introduced genotypes, because there are few improved varieties. With the aim of identifying outstanding accessions, oriented to greater efficiency of the crop, during the 2017 spring-summer agricultural cycle, 32 accessions of S. hispanica were agronomically characterized, in seven environments, under a design of randomized complete blocks with three repetitions. The following variables were evaluated: plant height, stem diameter, plant weight, number of spikes, grain weight per plant and yield per hectare. Accessions 1, 2, 12 and 22 had higher seed yield per ha, plant height, number of flower spikes, fruits per spike and dry plant weight. The average seed production was 924 kg ha-1. The best environment for chia production was Rancho San Lorenzo, Metepec. The cluster analysis grouped the accessions into five clusters, grouping them by their yield and related variables.

Keywords: agronomic variables, chia, genetic variability.

Reception date: July 2022

Acceptance date: October 2022

Introduction

Salvia hispanica L. is an herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae family, native to the mountainous areas of southwestern Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua (Lobo et al., 2011). The basis of the diet of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico, it was one of the four main crops of the Aztecs, surpassed only by corn (Zea mays L.), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and chili (Capsicum annuum L.). During the conquest of New Spain, its production decreased until almost disappearing, due to the reduction of the pre-Hispanic population and the implementation of cereal cultivation (Xingú et al., 2017).

In recent decades it has resurfaced, the nutraceutical properties and its attractive nutritional benefits have expanded its consumption (Xingú et al., 2017), it has oil with 68% of α-linolenic acid, the most important of the omega-3 fatty acids for human consumption, which makes it the richest vegetable source in antioxidants (Orona-Tamayo et al., 2017), vitamins B1, B2 and B3 (Jamshidi et al., 2019), fiber, proteins and minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc and sodium (Michajluk et al., 2018).

In addition, it has medicinal properties (Deka and Das, 2017), has beneficial effects for the treatment of metabolic syndrome (Lombardo and Chicco, 2017), regulates blood glucose and promotes blood clotting (Nieman et al., 2012), decreases bad cholesterol and triglycerides, and improves intestinal function (Sandoval-Oliveros and Paredes-López, 2013). The global demand for chia began in the nineties, it is currently grown in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Australia and Mexico mainly (Busilacchi et al., 2015), where its consumption increases day by day, being exported to Peru, the United States of America, Chile, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa (Suárez, 2018).

In Mexico, the commercial production of this species takes place in eight states. Although during the 2006-2009 period, the area sown with chia was less than 50 ha, by 2010 it increased to 2 300 ha, a figure that increased constantly until the 2013 cultivation cycle, which exceeded 18 000 ha. However, from 2014, it registered a decreasing trend and during the 2017 spring-summer cycle, it was grown only on 5 400 ha with a production of 3 200 tons (SIAP, 2019). Reduction due to factors such as: lack of experience on the cultivation, ignorance of nutritional properties and limited information on improved varieties (Sosa-Baldivia and Ruiz-Ibarra, 2016).

The state of Jalisco is the largest producer, concentrating more than 65% of the cultivated area which contributes a volume of more than 2 000 tons, equivalent to 63% of production (SIAP, 2019). Chia cultivation is mostly based on regional genotypes. Although germplasm banks have been established in institutions such as the Chapingo Autonomous University (UACH, for its acronym in Spanish), the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ, for its acronym in Spanish), the Institute of Agricultural, Aquaculture and Forestry Research and Training of the State of Mexico (ICAMEX, for its acronym in Spanish), the collection of accessions of the company Chíablanca SC de RL located in Acatic, Jalisco stands out, which concentrates collections from the different producing areas.

Information on the characterization of materials of this species is scarce, wild, semi-domesticated and domesticated populations have been typified (Calderón-Ruiz et al., 2021). Hernández and Miranda (2008) studied three ecotypes of cultivated chia, finding similarity in seed size and inflorescence density, but with differences in biological cycle, length and width of corolla, width of inflorescence and height of plant, and they concluded that among the morphological structures that differentiate cultivated S. hispanica from the wild are: flower size, density of whorls in the inflorescence, seed weight and duration of the biological cycle.

Studies carried out by Sosa-Baldivia et al. (2017) report potential yields of 1 723 kg ha-1, which they relate to the number of plants per m2, plant height and main inflorescence length, while Grimes et al. (2018) reported a production of 1 274.7 kg ha-1 of the Sahi Alba 914 variety. Yields are related to a higher number of branches plant-1 and inflorescences plant-1 (Pereira et al., 2020). Currently, studies have focused on demonstrating the properties as a functional food (Grancieri et al., 2019) but the work of describing the available materials of this species has been insufficient, so the present research arose with the aim of agronomically characterizing chia accessions from the main producing regions of Mexico.

Materials and methods

Genetic material

Two hundred fifty grams of seeds were obtained from each of the 32 chia accessions (Table 1), two were donated by the Institute of Agricultural, Aquaculture and Forestry Research and Training of the State of Mexico (ICAMEX, for its acronym in Spanish), six by the germplasm bank of the Chapingo Autonomous University (UACH, for its acronym in Spanish), 13 by the company Chíablanca, SC de RL (located in Acatic, Jalisco) and 11 provided by the National Institute of Nuclear Research (ININ, for its acronym in Spanish).

Table 1. Accessions of Salvia hispanica L.

Number

Genealogy

Seed color

Institution

1

CHGRD

Black

ICAMEX

2

CHCRI

Black

ICAMEX

3

ININ1

Black

ININ

4

ININ2

Marbled Grey

ININ

5

ININ3

White

ININ

6

ININ4

Black

ININ

7

ININ5

Black

ININ

8

ININ6

Black

ININ

9

ININ7

Marbled Grey

ININ

10

ININ8

White

ININ

11

ININ9

Marbled Grey

ININ

12

ININ10

White

ININ

13

ININ11

Black

ININ

14

17Pz

White

Chíablanca SC de RL

15

83FB5B

White

Chíablanca SC de RL

16

59 Normal

Black

Chíablanca SC de RL

17

66 Brown Grain

Brown

Chíablanca SC de RL

18

122 Az

Black

Chíablanca SC de RL

19

64

Black

Chíablanca SC de RL

20

SLVTTLA

Black

Chíablanca SC de RL

21

B54

White

Chíablanca SC de RL

22

CRIPINA

Mottled

Chíablanca SC de RL

23

680

Black

Chíablanca SC de RL

24

346

Black

Chíablanca SC de RL

25

30Pz

White

Chíablanca SC de RL

26

P75ZN

Marbled Grey

Chíablanca SC de RL

27

CNPGA

Black

Chapingo germplasm bank

28

CNPGB

Black

Chapingo germplasm bank

29

CPJGA

Marbled Grey

Chapingo germplasm bank

30

CPJGB

Marbled Grey

Chapingo germplasm bank

31

CBJGA

White

Chapingo germplasm bank

32

CBJGB

White

Chapingo germplasm bank

Evaluation localities

The crops were established in the 2017 spring-summer agricultural cycle in the localities whose characteristics are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Characteristics of the localities where the crop of chia was established.

Characteristic

CPB

RSL

SFT

XAL

SJX

North latitude

19°24’49”

19°14’40”

19°18’17”

19°10’51”

19°00’50”

West latitude

99°41’29”

99°35’36”

99°46’29”

99°25’41”

99°31’52”

Altitude (m)

2 640

2 606

2 750

2 770

2 330

Climate

C(w2)(w)ig

C(w2)(w)ig

C(w2)(w)ig

Cwb

C(w2)(w)ig

Soil

Vertisol

Phaeozem

Vertisol

Andosol

Andosol

Average annual rainfall (mm)

790

980

777

1 069

1 000

Landform

Plain

Plain

Plain

Mountain

Mountain

CPB= El Cerrillo Piedras Blancas (municipality of Toluca); RSL= Rancho San Lorenzo (Metepec); SFT= San Francisco Tlalcilalcalpan (Almoloya de Juárez); XAL= Xalatlaco (Xalatlaco); SJX= San Juan Xochiaca (Tenancingo).

Experimental design and unit

An experimental design of randomized complete blocks with three repetitions per environment was used. The plot consisted of three furrows of 4.5 x 0.8 m, each furrow with 90 plants at a distance of 0.05 m. The central furrow was the useful experimental unit.

Establishment and conduct of the experiment

The preparation of the soil consisted of fallow, two passes of harrowing and furrowing. The sowing was carried out manually by steady flow on the ridge of the furrow  in May 2017. Subsequently, a thinning was carried out to adjust the required density. Between 30 and 45 days after the emergence of the seedlings, weed control was performed manually.

Variables evaluated

Ten plants were selected from each experimental unit and the following variables were evaluated: plant height (from the base of the stem to the apex of the main spike, recorded in cm), diameter of the base of the stem (mm), dry weight of mature plant (grams), number of fruits per floret in the main spike, main spike length (cm), main spike length from node (cm), number of lateral branches, number of total flower spikes per plant, harvest index (ratio between seed weight and total weight of unthreshed plant) and yield in kg (plants contained in one linear meter).

Data analysis

In the statistical package SAS version 6.01, the following analyses were carried out: variance (individual and combined), comparison of means between sites and between cultivars (individual and combined). The 14 interrelationships between cultivars and between variables were determined by a principal components analysis (Sánchez, 1995).

Results and discussion

Significance (p≤ 0.01) was obtained between environments (E), between chia accessions (C) and in the interaction of accessions (C) by environments (E) for dry weight of plant, stem diameter, plant height, number of fruits per spike, spike length, spike length from node, number of branches per plant, number of spikes per plant, grain weight per plant, harvest index and yield in kg ha-1 (Table 3).

Table 3. Mean, coefficient of variation, mean squares and statistical significance of the F values of the combined analysis of variance (seven environments) of 11 variables. Toluca Valley, 2017.

SV

DF

PSP

DT

AP

NFE

LE

LEN

NRP

NEP

PGP

IC

R

Environment (E)

6

1147.48**

82.53**

616.49**

76.61**

64.65**

160.54**

500.47**

391.51**

392.44**

106.72**

369.93**

Repetitions/E

14

0.13

0.01

0.13

0.01

0.06

0.05

0.14

0.09

0.37

0.04

0.36

Accession (C)

31

8.56**

8.4**

18.9**

8.54**

8.39**

17.2**

12.96**

13.5**

19.6**

13.1**

20**

C*E

186

8.19**

6.01**

7.41**

4.02**

2.67**

4.25**

5.22**

5.38**

7.35**

4.02**

7.27**

Error

434

81.81

8.37

61.11

14.05

31.94

2.84

2.09

108.11

4.224

14.43

108 381

Mean

37.87

8.88

90.61

12.79

28.13

15.59

16.63

41.64

5.66

18.11

924.29

CV (%)

23.88

32.56

8.63

29.28

20.09

10.81

8.68

24.97

36.287

20.98

35.61

PSP= dry plant weight; DT= stem diameter; AP= plant height; NFE= number of fruits per floret of main spike; LE= spike length; LEN= spike length from node; NRP= number of branches per plant; NEP= number of spikes per plant; PGP= grain weight per plant; IC= harvest index; R= yield.

Table 4 shows that, although RSL surpassed the rest of the localities in plant height, RSL1 showed the highest dry weight per plant, grain weight per plant and yield. RSL, RSL1, SFT and XAL have statistical similarity in spike length from node and number of fruits per spike. RSL, RSL1 and SFT surpass the rest of the localities in number of spikes per plant. RSL and RSL1 have greater spike length and number of branches per plant. This allowed establishing that the best behavior occurred in the RSL and RSL1 localities, which profiles this site as a potential area to promote the development of the crop of chia. The differences in the productive parameters of the crop of chia in the evaluated localities can be attributed to the fact that the conditions of each locality can influence the development and production of the collections (Durán et al., 2016), although the genotype effect is the most marked (Busilacchi et al., 2013).

Table 4. Comparison of means among localities (Tukey p≤ 0.01).

Environment

PSP

DT

AP

NFE

LE

LEN

NRP

NEP

PGP

IC

R

CPB

7.606f

8.45c

62.72f

8.71b

22.476 d

12.48c

12.49d

21.03c

1.572 d

20.71b

374.73de

CPB1

9.281f

7.61cd

69.66e

9.59b

25.04cd

13.82b

13.8c

22.33c

1.98d

22.88a

316.35f

RSL

55.05c

11.93b

111.5a

15.79a

33.97a

17.16a

20.28a

63.17a

8.324 b

15.13d

1 333.35b

RSL1

86.42a

7.45cd

106.8b

15.74a

33.75a

17.16a

20.35a

63.16a

13.02a

15.33d

2 083.11a

SFT

66.56b

13.4a

109.24ab

15.44a

30.72b

17.1a

18.2b

64.38a

7.54b

12.68e

1 206.88b

XAL

23.75d

6.83d

92.97c

14.88a

26.14c

17.78a

17.75b

34.59b

3.89c

17.46c

623.29c

SJX

16.44e

6.55d

81.338d

9.439b

24.81cd

13.66b

13.58c

22.83c

3.32c

22.6ab

532.37cd

PSP= dry plant weight; DT= stem diameter; AP= plant height; NFE= number of fruits per floret of main spike; LE= spike length; LEN= spike length from node; NRP= number of branches per plant; NEP= number of spikes per plant; PGP= grain weight per plant; IC= harvest index; R= yield; CPB= Cerrillo Piedras Blancas, CPB1= Cerrillo Piedras Blancas 1; RSL= Rancho San Lorenzo; RSL1= Rancho San Lorenzo 1; SFT= San Francisco Tlalcilalcalpan; XAL= Xalatlaco; SJX= San Juan Xochiaca.

In relation to accessions, in Table 5, selections 1 (black seeds) and 12 (white seed) stand out in grain weight per plant and yield (exceeding 1 400 kg ha-1), the weight of seed influences the yield, the marbled gray and white seeds are the heaviest compared to those of uniform brown color (Rovati et al., 2012). Materials 19 and 23 showed seed weight per plant and yields of less than 50 kg ha-1, genotypes affected by frosts in full flowering, it would be convenient to evaluate them in areas with less risk of frosts or modify the sowing season because the plant is sensitive to low temperatures (González, 2016).

Table 5. Means of agronomic variables of chia grown in seven environments.

A

PSP

DT

AP

NFE

LE

LEN

NR

NEP

PGP

IC

R

1

48.68ab

8.56de

100.26a-d

12.15bc

31.75bc

15.25d-i

14.55i

46.34a-h

8.66a

18.52b-g

1 403.8a

2

45.62a-d

8.95cde

102.319abc

11.66bc

29.88nc

17.22a-d

16.56b-h

53.28ab

6.41a-d

16.49e-h

1 043.2a-d

3

42.56a-d

8.24ed

103.84ab

10.74bc

28.55bcd

15.89b-g

18.07ab

48.79a-f

5.95cd

17.3c-g

972.4bcd

4

35.863c-h

7.53e

94.86b-i

20.26a

42.07a

12.886jk

18.05ab

33.96g-l

6.67a-d

19.97b-e

1 087.5a-d

5

35.17c-h

8.55ed

92.05d-j

11.61bc

34.25b

14.31h-k

17.43a-f

32.84h-l

6.37a-d

18.51b-g

1 037.9a-d

6

36.897b-h

12.58abc

99.27a-f

14.14b

30.76bc

14.46h-k

16.24b-i

37.13d-l

6.99a-d

20.01b-e

1 141.1a-d

7

36.633d-h

13.46ab

105.38a

12.54bc

28.75bcd

15.45c-h

17.73a-d

33.66g-l

6.54a-d

19.94c-e

1 071.2a-d

8

44.828a-d

11.53a-d

101.97a-d

14.48b

26.72cd

16.38b-f

18.66a

42.45b-k

7.19abc

17.84b-g

1 175.6abc

9

34.929d-h

13.93a

91.2e-k

13.45b

26.16cd

16.73a-e

16.96a-g

26.86

5.23cde

18.36b-g

854cde

10

30.082gh

7.45e

86.61i-k

14.71b

26.61cd

16.98a-d

16.46b-h

28.91 kl

4.86cde

19.98b-e

797.7cde

11

40.091a-g

8.86cde

93.05c-i

20.21a

30.56bc

18.72a

16.43b-i

42.77a-j

6.65a-d

20.4a-e

1 091.9a-d

12

47.378abc

8.92cde

93.25c-g

13.29bc

28.22bcd

15.22d-i

16.48b-h

49.79a-d

8.9a

19.46b-f

1 444.7a

13

38.939a-g

7.98de

97.89a-g

11.211bc

26.44cd

15.87c-g

17.59a-f

40.49b-l

4.73cde

16.086e-i

777.9cde

14

31.273e-h

7.23e

85.76i-l

12.96bc

27.95bcd

16.32b-f

15.97d-i

35.8e-l

6.53a-d

22.58ab

1 064.9a-d

15

26.496h

7.18e

81.18kl

13.14bc

29.38bc

16.26b-f

15.82e-i

29.41jkl

6.2a-d

25.37a

1 014.7a-d

16

34.056d-h

7.82de

80.69l

13.22bc

29.65bc

17.88ab

14.89hi

55.31a

6.39a-d

18.61b-g

1 039a-d

17

37.185b-h

8.61de

85.29i-l

13.43b

29.65bc

15.29d-i

15.74ghi

53.39ab

3.06ef

11.35i

502.3ef

18

38.931a-g

9.04cde

89.03f-l

11.99bc

28.09bcd

14.53e-k

17.61a-f

49.07a-e

1.85fg

11.571hi

306.5fg

19

41.537a-g

9.98b-e

91.38e-k

10.29bc

21.66d

14.32f-k

18.55a

30.96i-l

0.11g

14.6f-i

20.8g

20

38.722a-g

7.5e

91.38i-l

12.25bc

26.71cd

17.59abc

16.45b-h

43.69a-i

6.18bcd

19.37b-f

1 006.6bcd

21

41.892a-g

7.59e

91.38jkl

14.56b

27.12bcd

17.55abc

16.11c-i

51.48abc

6.45a-d

21.69abc

1 053.4a-d

22

49.767a

9.37cde

91.38e-l

12.48bc

26.2cd

15.33d-i

16.87a-g

51.74abc

6.35a-d

16.26e-i

1 027.2a-d

23

42.181a-f

9.03cde

91.38a-g

8.51c

21.83d

12.77k

17.65a-e

36.52d-l

0.12g

14.61f-i

45.7g

24

42.498a-e

8.2de

91.38c-i

10.08bc

25.69cd

13.19ijk

17.94abc

52.09abc

6.64a-d

16.6d-g

1 081.1a-d

25

31.057e-h

6.96e

91.38jkl

11.56bc

25.56cd

16.12b-g

15.17gni

35.17f-l

6.12bcd

20.31b-e

1 000.3bcd

26

32.048e-h

7.28e

91.38i-l

11.26bc

28.34bcd

17.78ab

15.16ghi

36.16d-l

4.91de

15.88e-i

800.3de

27

30.354fgh

7.51e

91.38kl

11.38bc

26.87bcd

14g-k

15.27ghi

34.27g-l

4.43d-h

13.96ghi

720.2d-h

28

32.251fgh

8.54e

91.38f-l

12.29bc

26.43cd

15.99b-g

17.35a-f

38.58c-l

6.84a-d

21.58a-d

1 115.8a-d

29

38.889a-g

10.7a-e

91.38g-l

11.26bc

25.15cd

15.8b-g

17.66a-e

47.02a-g

6.12bcd

17.69b-g

991.5bcd

30

34.556d-g

10.63a-e

91.38l

11.65bc

27.21bcd

14.65e-k

16.12c-i

46.24a-h

4.78cde

16.35e-h

781.3cde

31

32.846e-h

7.29e

91.38kl

13.7b

28.91bcd

15.02d-j

14.81hi

38.68c-l

5.62cde

19.28b-f

917.9cde

32

37.695b-h

7.47e

91.38h-l

13.03bc

27.07bcd

13.24h-k

16d-1

49.67a-d

7.31abc

19.03b-f

1 188.7abc

Accessions that exceed yields of 1 000 kg ha-1 of seed also exceed 30 flower spikes, 90 cm in height and 34 g of dry weight of plant, it could be deduced that these variables are closely related to seed yield (Karim et al., 2016).

The dendrogram shows that, at a Euclidean distance of 200, five groups formed (Figure 1). Set 1 was formed by accessions 17 and 18, which presented physiological maturation at 160 days after sowing, unlike those of intermediate cycle which have their production at 150 days. Production is low, 306 kg ha-1 (18) and 502 kg ha-1 (17), but they are within the yields of the national average of 500 kg ha-1 (SIAP, 2019).

Cluster two consisted of accessions 19 and 23, which showed flowering at 160 days, but showed cold damage in the frost season, so their production was minimal, of 20.8 kg ha-1 (19) and 45.7 kg ha-1 (23), this confirms that temperatures below 5 °C affect the crop of chia (Baginsky et al., 2016) and that, in temperate climates, more biomass accumulates and they produce less seed, contrary to when they grow in warm environments, in these conditions they accelerate the reproductive phase and produce more seed (Medina-Santos et al., 2019).

Figure 1. Dendrogram from 12 agronomic variables of 32 chia collections.

Accessions 15, 20 and 25 form a subgroup of cluster three, which can be considered of early cycle, since their flowering occurred at 90 days and their physiological maturity at 120 days, they share the average presence of 15 branches per plant, this subgroup integrates accessions 29 and 3 of intermediate cycle (150 days), with 16 to 18 branches and 47 to 48 flower spikes per plant. With similar seed production, another subgroup consists of accessions 2 (1 043 kg ha-1), 22 (1 027 kg ha-1), 5 (1 037 kg ha-1), 16 (1 039 kg ha-1) and 21 (1 053 kg ha-1). Accessions 7 and 14 share the same production 1 071 kg ha-1 and 1 064 kg ha-1 respectively, the grain weight per plant 7 (6.54) and 14 (6.52) and number of flower spikes per plant 7 (33) and 14 (35).

Group four was formed by accessions six (1 141 kg ha-1) and 28 (1 115 kg ha-1), which form a subgroup sharing the same grain production and weight per plant, another subgroup is formed by collections 8 and 22 with yields of 1 175 and 1 188 kg ha-1 respectively, as well as the same grain weight per plant. The subgroup formed by accessions 10 and 26 share stem diameter (7.2 mm), spike length from node, seed production per plant and yield. Another subgroup formed by accessions 13 and 30 has the same seed production per plant (4.7 g), yield per hectare of 777-781 kg and number of flowers per floret in spike. Similar yields of the accessions of this group have been obtained in Petacal, Jalisco with local cultivars (Sosa-Baldivia et al., 2017).

Cluster five was integrated by accessions 1 and 12, which were the ones that had the highest seed weight per plant and production, with yields exceeding 1 400 kg of seed per ha. Fruit or seed production and yield are variables that allow determining the ideal genotypes to implement in the search for cultivation areas (Bochicchio et al., 2015).

Principal component analysis

The first four principal components explain 74% of the agronomic variability of 32 accessions of S. hispanica. Sánchez (1995) mentions that this percentage is reliable to properly interpret the correlations that exist between them. The first component with 30.43% was related to yield. The second component with 21.39% was defined by the variable of seed weight per plant, the third
principal component 12.25%, defined by the number of spikes per plant, and the fourth component with 10.24 of the variability generated by spike length, they collected the variation not gathered by the first, presenting the highest factorial coefficients.

In principal component analysis, the new factors (or components) are independent of each other, that is, a variable must have high coefficients with only one factor and there should be no factors with similar coefficients (Restrepo et al., 2012). The variables yield, grain weight per plant, number of fruits per spike, number of spikes per plant and spike length have a positive and significant contribution, which allows specifying the contribution of the variables to the principal components and their relationship with the explained variation (Figure 2). The variables studied tend to be grouped, with an acceptable degree of agreement in their location within the quadrants (Olivares and Hernández, 2020).

Figure 2. Multidimensional representation of the two principal components of 32 collections of S. hispanica.

Conclusions

The characterization showed that there is a wide agronomic variability between the accessions evaluated, the factors yield, number of spikes, seed weight per plant and plant height are variables that allow the best materials to be selected; selections 1, 2, 12 and 22 have outstanding agronomic characteristics, which can be established with potential yields attractive to producers in the study area, sowing in a timely manner when the rainy season begins and thus avoid frost damage or as a basis for developing genetic improvement programs for S. hispanica L.

Acknowledgements

To the Institute of Agricultural, Aquaculture and Forestry Research and Training of the State of Mexico, particularly Eng. Enrique Archundia Garduño, the company Chíablanca (Eng. Guillermo Orozco de Rosas), the National Bank of Plant Germplasm, Mexico, the Chapingo Autonomous University (Dr. Jesús Axayacatl Cuevas Sánchez) and the Institute of Nuclear Research (Dr. Eulogio de la Cruz Torres), for providing their collections.

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