To compare agronomic and seed traits of 135 common bean landraces originating from Korea, Bulgaria, and El Salvador, we evaluated 20 morphological traits and performed principal component analysis (PCA). In the PCA, the first and second principal components accounted for 55.15% and 15.97% of the total variance, respectively. The first component showed a strong positive correlation with seed size and 100-seed weight, whereas the second component produced a strong negative correlation with days to flowering and days to maturity, indicating that these traits may explain the differences between landraces originating from different countries. Landraces from Korea showed higher variation in days to flowering and days to maturity; those from Bulgaria produced larger and heavier seeds; those from El Salvador produced smaller and lighter seeds and flowering and maturity occurred earlier. In addition, the landraces from El Salvador had relatively lower diversity compared to those from other countries, as they were grouped within a small cluster in the PCA. These evaluation results may provide important information for selecting breeding materials, and diversity analyses of landraces from different countries provide information for securing genetic resources.

To better understand the morphological variation in the 189 accessions of cultivated var. frutescens of Perilla crop preserved at the RDA-Genebank in South Korea, morphological characteristics were investigated using seven traits related to leaf quality. In the principal component analysis (PCA), the first and second principal components accounted for 28.9% and 19.7% of the total variance, respectively. In the first component, leaf color (QL1) and stem color (QL3) contributed positively, whereas the flowering period (QL5) and degree of pubescence (QL6) contributed in a negative manner. In the second component, QL5 and QL6 contributed positively, whereas the fragrance of plants (QL7) contributed negatively. The results of PCA showed that the 189 Perilla accessions were clearly divided into three groups based on the 1st axis (X-axis), except for some accessions. However, the Perilla accessions collected in South Korea and abroad did not show a clear geographical distribution between the collection areas. Correlation analysis among the seven traits of 189 Perilla accessions showed a positive correlation coefficient for the combination of QL1 and QL3, and QL5 and QL6, and a negative correlation for the combination of color of the reverse side of the leaf and QL6, and QL5 and QL7. Therefore, the results of this study will provide useful information for the selection of useful resources for the development of leafy vegetable varieties of the Perilla crop and the preservation and management of genetic resources of the Perilla crop preserved at the RDA-Genebank in South Korea.

In this study, watermelon accessions introduced from the USDA were characterized for 12 morphological characteristics of leaf, flower, fruit, and seed, according to the National Agrobiodiversity Center descriptor list. In addition, to confirm the genetic composition of each watermelon accession, genetic profiling was performed using 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 154 watermelon accessions from the USDA were collected from 31 different countries, among which, 12.3% (19 accessions) were from Turkey. Morphological characterization revealed that the accessions displayed a large diversity. Genetic profiling using 20 SSR markers showed that six accessions (K192117, K192028, K193400, K192376, K192499, and K192800) were expected to be inbred lines among the 154 watermelon accessions. The 12 characters scored were analyzed using discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC). The result revealed 68.1% of the total variability and indicated variations among accessions, mainly based on fruit stripes and fruit shape along the longitudinal section. The accessions were divided into eight groups according to DAPC, although the geographical origin was not a great source for the grouping. Our results will be helpful for the efficient management of germplasms and in understanding and selecting watermelon accessions for the breeding process.