en |
Correlation between grain quality of foxtail millet ( Setaria italica [L.] P. Beauv.) and environmental factors on multivariate statistical analysis
Ning, Na; Yang, Yan-jun; Hong, Jian-ping; Yuan, Xiang-yang; Song, Xi-e; Wang, Hong-fu & Guo, Ping-yi
Abstract
Quantifying the effects of environmental conditions
on grain quality of foxtail millet (Setaria italica [L.] P.
Beauv.) is critical for large-scale promotion of high-quality
foxtail millet according to local conditions. We analyzed
quantitative correlation between grain quality of foxtail
millet and environmental factors during the growing season
(May-September) using multivariate statistical analysis
under different ecological conditions at five representative
locations across Shanxi Province, China. Based on the
results of principal component analysis, the first principal
component, which explained 58.22% of total variance in
grain quality, was selected to represent the comprehensive
quality of foxtail millet. The results of gray relational
analysis showed that the difference in grain quality
across different locations was mainly affected by altitude
(grey relational grade [GRG] = 0.8137), followed by
precipitation (GRG = 0.7744), diurnal temperature range
(GRG = 0.6816), latitude (GRG = 0.5417), sunshine hours
(GRG = 0.5052), and ≥ 20 °C accumulated temperature
(GRG = 0.4517). The precipitation of July and diurnal
temperature range of July-September had the greatest effect
on grain quality of foxtail millet. Stepwise regression and
path analyses revealed that altitude, precipitation, and ≥ 20
°C accumulated temperature were the major environmental
factors affecting grain quality of foxtail millet, which
determined 99% of total variance in grain quality.
Altitude and precipitation exhibited a significant positive
effect, while ≥ 20 °C accumulated temperature showed
a significant negative effect. The regression equation
proposed in this study (P = 0.0048, R2 = 0.99) can be used
to predict and forecast grain quality of foxtail millet.
Keywords
Environmental factors; foxtail millet grain quality; gray relational analysis; path analysis; principal component analysis; stepwise regression.
|