Phenotypic diversity and comprehensive evaluation of Roegneria ciliaris（Trin.）Nevski germplasm resources in Henan

【Objective】 To analyze the phenotypic diversity of Roegneria ciliaris（Trin.）Nevski germplasm resources， and to screen the excellent germplasms for forage utilization，which could provide excellent resources and theoretical reference for R. ciliaris germplasms exploration and new variety breeding. 【Method】 The 16 phenotypic traits of 15 wild R. ciliaris populations collected from different ecological regions in Henan were subjected to variation analysis，correlation analysis，cluster analysis and principal component analysis，and the comprehensive score（D）evaluation mathematical model was established with the contribution rate of each principal component characteristic value as the weight to comprehensively evaluate and rank the R. ciliaris germplasm resources. 【Result】 There were extremely significant differences in 16 phenotypic traits among different R. ciliaris germplasms（P<0.01，the same below）. The variation coefficient of flag leaf width was the largest（21.88%），followed by seed yield（17.88%）and flag leaf length（17.81%）. The variation of seed width was the smallest（only 5.67%）. The average variation coefficients of 7 nutrition-related traits was 15.48%，and the average variation coefficient of the other 9 reproduction-related traits was 10.82%. Correlation analysis showed that seed yield was significantly affected by spikelet width，awn length and 1000-seed weight（P<0.05，the same below），while hay yield was significantly and positively correlated with flag leaf width，leaf sheath length，inflorescence length，spikelet number，spikelet width and seed length，extremely significantly correlated with spikelet length and awn length. Through cluster analysis，the 15 R. ciliaris germplasm resources could be classified into 4 taxa at Euclidean distance 10. The I taxon included 5 germplasms. The main trait characteristics were taller plants，longer spike rod and inflorescence，and medium length and width of flag leaves. The II taxon included 2 germplasms，and the trait characteristics were more prominent reproduction-related traits and shorter plants. The III taxon included 3 germplasms，and the main trait characteristics were larger flag leaves，longer internode，higher hay yield and lower seed yield. The IV taxon included 5 germplasms，and the main characteristics were short plants. Principal component analysis showed that flag leaf width，leaf sheath length，awn length，spikelet number and spikelet length were the main factors causing differences in phenotypic traits among different populations of R. ciliaris. 【Conclusion】 The 4 germplasm resources originated from Nanyang，Henan（numbers as RC13， RC10，RC15，RC12）perform better in terms of overall traits，with higher plant，wider flag leaf，and higher forage yield and seed yield，which are expected to be used as parental materials for R. ciliaris breeding or be applied directly in production.