Univariate and Multivariate Analysis of Phenotypic Traits in Mung Beans Reveals Diversity Among Korean, Indian, and Chinese Accessions

Univariate and Multivariate Analysis of Phenotypic Traits in Mung Beans Reveals Diversity Among Korean, Indian, and Chinese Accessions

This study investigated the diversity of 323 mung bean accessions from Korea, China, and India, along with six cultivars, using 22 agronomical traits. The standardized Shannon-Weaver index (H') for the qualitative traits ranged from 0.11 (terminal leaflet shape) to 0.98 (pubescence density of pod). Likewise, the coefficient of variation for the quantitative traits ranged from 8.76% (days to maturity (DM)) to 79.91% (lodging rate (LR)), indicating a wide genetic variance. Hypocotyl color, pod color, seed shape, and seed coat surface lust showed different distributions among Korean, Indian, and Chinese accessions. Chinese accessions had the highest average germination rate, DM, days from flowering to maturity, and one-hundred seeds weight, followed by Korean and Indian accessions, while the number of seeds per pod (SPP) displayed the opposite trend, with all except SPP showing significant variation (p < 0.05). Similarly, plant height, days to flowering, and number of pods per plant increased in the order of India > Korea > China, with LR showing the opposite trend (p < 0.05). The mung bean accessions were grouped into four major clusters using hierarchical cluster analysis supported by principal component analyses, and all of the quantitative traits showed significant variations between the clusters (p < 0.05). Generally, the mung bean accessions investigated in this study exhibited wide phenotypic trait variations, which could be beneficial for future genomics studies. Moreover, this study identified 77 accessions that outperformed the controls. Consequently, these superior accessions could provide a wide spectrum of options during the development of improved mung bean varieties.