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Abstract
Characterization and variability analysis of germplasm is a prerequisite for the improvement of high-yielding variety. Thus, a study was executed with ninety-seven proso millet accessions to characterize and assess their variability using multivariate analysis. The study showed a wide range of variations in the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of proso millet accession. Of the qualitative characters, growth habits, sheath pubescence, ligule pubescence, inflorescence shape, degree of lodging, and seed color showed distinct variation. The highest coefficient of variation was obtained in grain yield (43.2%) within the quantitative traits. The total variation of principal components was 18.8, 13.6, 11.6, 10.8, and 10.3% in the PC1, PC2, PC3, PC4, and PC5, respectively. The overall variability in the number of secondary inflorescence branches, plant height, grain yield, days to flowering 50%, and sheath length of flag leaf has been recorded as the most relevant contributing factors regarding the diversity of the accession in PC1. In addition, the clustering analysis of ninety-seven proso millet accessions was able to group them into five clusters based on ten quantitative characters, while the maximum number of accessions (27) were contained in cluster V. In conclusion, the existing variability of the proso millet accession can attract plant breeders to adopt certain recipient accessions for breeding programs.