Patterns of variation in Lathyrus sativus and some related species

The main objective of the present work is to broaden our knowledge on grass pea germplasm. 280 entries mainly represented by L. sativus, L. cicera, L. ochrus have been included in this study Eighteen quantitative and qualitative descriptors were observed. Quantitative data together with qualitative information were subject to multivariate statistical procedures. The analysis of the principal components on quantitative traits was carried out to study the total variation of the entries under test To summarise between-species variation and to get information in accordance with the classification of each entry, a canonical discriminant analysis was applied. Descriptive statistics for 8 quantitative traits relative to the investigated species are reported. Frequency distributions for 8 qualitative traits have also been considered. The species L. ochrus showed earliness, tallest plants, smallest seeds, lowest 100-seed weight and more seeds/pod; late flowering, late maturity, shortest plants and intermediate values for the other traits were observed for L. cicera. Biggest seeds and highest 100-seed weight have characterised the L sativus entries. The presence of high diversity within the L sativus (primary gene pool) and L cicera (secondary gene pool) confirms the use of both species as a valuable source of genetic material for grass pea improvement