A NEW METHOD OF MEASURING GENETIC DIFFERENCES

The genetic differences between sugarcane parents were estimated by ten genetic divergence criteria, and principal component analysis was performed on these ten divergence indices of 28 combinations. The first three eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors of the principal components which accounted for more than 88 % of the total variation of all the indices were selected. The first three principal component values of each cross were caculated, and the relationship between the first three principal components of the crosses and major economic characters of the hybrids were investigated. The research methods described were discussed.