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, 14 agricultural and phenotypic traits were used to analyze morphological variations among 10 near-isogenic lines (NILs) of colored waxy maize and 2 parental lines (HW3 and HW9) of the hybrid cultivar “Mibaek 2.” The results of principal component analysis indicated that on the first principal component axis, seed coat color, R value, V value, days of tasseling, L* value, and days of silking greatly contributed to the positive direction, whereas anthesis–silking interval and leaf width greatly contributed to the negative direction. On the second principal component axis, kernel row number and tassel color contributed to the positive direction, whereas setted ear length, ear length, and 100-kernel weight contributed to the negative direction. Thus, the morphological characteristics that greatly contributed to the first and second principal components might be useful for discrimination among the 10 NILs and 2 parental lines of “Mibaek 2.” Of the 10 NILs analyzed, 16CLP26 and 16CLP16 were considered useful breeding material for the development of colored waxy maize varieties with relatively high amounts of yield and anthocyanin. Collectively, these results are expected to provide useful information for the development and selection of lines for breeding colored waxy corn varieties at the Maize Research Institute, Gangwon-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services.

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.

In order to develop a core set and new corn variety in Korea, we evaluated the morphological characteristics of 194 maize accessions by examining eight quantitative characteristics. On the evaluation of quantitative traits for 194 maize accessions, they showed the morphological variations in tassel length (35.1±5.0 cm), plant height (226.1±33.7 cm), ear height (86.3±22.6 cm), stem diameter (2.3±0.6 cm), leaf width (9.3±1.1 cm), ear length (14.5±2.4 cm), ear row number (14.1±1.9 row), and 100 kernel weight (24.9±4.4 g). The results of principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that the tassel length, plant height, and ear height greatly contributed to positive direction on the first principal component axis. One-hundred kernel weight contributed to negative direction on the second principal component axis. Thus these morphological characteristics, which contributed greatly in the first and second principal components, might be useful for discrimination among 194 maize accessions. In our study, seven accessions, such as IT026357, IT026441, IT027321, IT033271, IT033591, IT033597 and IT124273, particularly were measured high on yield-related traits. Consequently, the 194 maize accessions used in this study could be used as promising materials for maize breeding programs such as development of new hybrid in Korea.