Cluster Analysis in Fodder Oats (Avena sativa L.)

Oats is an important crop used globally for food and fodder, holding significant economic value. In the context of livestock farming, fodder oats (Avena sativa L.) is an important crop during winter season. A comprehensive analysis of thirty oat genotypes was conducted at The Regional Agricultural Research Station at Ambalavayal in Wayanadan Eastern Plateaux of Kerala to identify superior genotypes that could increase forage production and improve nutritional quality during the Rabi season of 2022-23. A cluster analysis using Mahalanobis D2 statistics was performed employing the Tocher method within the Indostat software, involving eleven morphological and six nutritional traits. The thirty genotypes were categorized into seven clusters based on their D2 values using the Euclidean method. Cluster I consisted of 14 genotypes (OL-1942, OL-1944, OL-1980, OL-15, OL-212, OL-11, OL-1952, OL-1874-1, OL-1975-2, OL-1976-1, OL-12, OL-1967, AVT-1, OL-13), followed by Cluster II with 8 genotypes (OL-10, OL-2000, OL-1977, OL-1964, OL-1988, OL-1896, OL-1802, OL-1974). Cluster IV comprised 3 genotypes (OL-1937, OL-1963, OL-125), Cluster III included two genotypes (OL-9, JHO-822), and Cluster V(OL-1931-1), VI(OL-1969), and VII(OL-1949) each had one genotype. The inter-cluster D2 values were found to be higher than the intra-cluster D2 values implying that there is a substantial amount of diversity among the genotypes under study with respect to the considered characters. The highest intra-cluster distance was observed in Cluster IV (42.81), followed by Cluster II, Cluster I, and Cluster III. The maximum inter-cluster D2 values were observed between Clusters IV and VII (102.31), and the minimum was observed between Clusters II and V (45.44). Based on the cluster mean, Cluster III was observed to be a significant contributor of days to first and 50% flowering, days to maturity, crude fibre content, total phenolic and antioxidant content. Cluster IV was a potential contributor to green fodder yield, dry matter yield, leaf and stem dry weight, plant height, and phytate content. Cluster V was associated with the number of tillers and crude protein content. Cluster VI was related to the number of leaves and condensed tannin content. Cluster VII was pertaining to the leaf-stem ratio.