Multicategorical variables for determining the genetic divergence among biomass and saccharin sorghum genotypes

This study aimed to evaluate the genetic diversity of biomass and saccharin sorghum genotypes, based on 19 agronomic traits by the means of multicategorical variables. The experiment was conducted in the experimental area of the University of the State of Mato Grosso/UNEMAT, in Cáceres. We evaluated 25 genotypes of saccharin sorghum and 36 genotypes of biomass sorghum, in a randomized complete-block design with three replications. The data were submitted to three clustering methods, Tocher optimization, UPGMA hierarchical and Projection distances in 3D plan and comparing their results. The study showed the most divergent genotypes and the behavior of the three methods, which have proved partially concordant in the grouping of genotypes. The combined use of the clustering methods enabled a more accurate assessment for inference, and evidence the existence of genetic variability among saccharin and biomass sorghum genotypes.