Diversity of morphological, agronomic, and molecular characters of various genotypes of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merill]

Increased consumption of soybeans needs to be followed by increased production through expansion of crop area and productivity by planting superior varieties. Breeding programs can create new varieties by forming a wide genetic diversity. This research aimed to identify the genetic diversity of germplasm soybeans using qualitative, quantitative, and molecular. This study was conducted at Field Experiment Leuwikopo, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, IPB University. The experiment used a randomized completely block design with three replications. The results showed diversity in the observation of morphological characters observed from growth type, hypocotyl color, flower color, seed color, seed shape, leaf shape, leaf size, and seed size. Based on these results, genotype ‘G. AGS-439 x L Tegal-2’ showed the highest pod weight, respectively 41.889 g as well as character potential good agronomy as parents in crossbreeding for yield improvement. The level of similarity reached 55% using NTSys.pc software and divided into two groups with a cut-off point of 0.66 and 0.78. Both groups contained genotypes with a similarity level of 1.00, namely in the first group ‘Wasemame, G.12930, Kedelai Taiwan’, and the second group ‘Glycine soja, Lokal Tegal’. The results of this study can be further utilized in breeding programs as candidates for the selection of parental crossbreeding for the development of genotype-superior soybeans.