Genetic diversity of wild grape hyacinth (Muscari neglectum Guss. ex Ten.) germplasm with ornamental potential in the central region of Iran

Grape hyacinth (Muscari neglectum Guss ex Ten.) is one of the economically important species that can be cultivated as an ornamental crop as well as in pharmaceutical, food, and dyeing industries. In the present study, a total of 140 wild accessions of this species from central regions of Iran were evaluated using 29 morphological characteristics. Significant phenotypic variations were observed among the accessions; especially desirable variations were detected for commercial traits such as peduncle length, peduncle diameter, length and width of leaf, inflorescence length, inflorescence density, floral scent, and bulblet number. The highest variability corresponded to floral scent, bulblet number, inflorescence shape, peduncle color, and inflorescence color. Coefficient of variation (CV) was the lowest for bulb length /bulb diameter, floret length, bulb diameter, and bulb length. Peduncle length, the most important feature of cut flower, varied from 7.5 to 25.2 cm with an average of 14.7. Bottommost leaf length ranged from 5.8 to 30 cm, while bottommost leaf width varied from 1 to 6 mm. Inflorescence length varied from 6 to 37 mm with an average of 19, while inflorescence diameter ranged from 1 to 16 mm. Senjegan-8 accession with the highest values for inflorescence length, inflorescence density, and rate for the length of peduncle was one of the superior accessions. According to principal component analysis (PCA), the first seven components of data accounted for 70.92% of the total variance. Scatter plot showed high level of phenotypic diversity among the studied accessions. Some of the superior accessions such as Rudbaran-8, Rudbaran-20, Rudbaran-45, and Rudbaran-56 were separated from others in scatter plot and characterized by the highest values for inflorescence density, bulblet number, bulb length, and bulb diameter. According to ornamental potential, five accessions, including Senjegan-8, Rudbaran-8, Rudbaran-20, Rudbaran-45, and Rudbaran-56 can be utilized in breeding programs. (c) 2022 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.