Classification of Jerusalem artichoke accessions by linear discriminant analysis of mineral concentration in tubers and leaves

Abstract

Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to classify 138 accessions of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.). The analysis was performed using mineral element concentrations of tubers and leaves for N, P, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu. Higher classification accuracy was obtained using tuber (92.8%) than leaf (78.3%) mineral concentrations. Elements that contributed most to discrimination were Zn, Mg, and Cu for tubers and P, Mg, Zn and Cu for leaves. Accession separation in LDA figures was acceptable. Three distinctive groups that matched accession origins from the USA, Montenegro and cultivars were found according to tuber mineral concentrations. Leaf mineral concentrations provided a LDA graph where accessions from Montenegro and cultivars were grouped in two distinctive groups while accessions from the USA overlapped mostly with cultivars and to a certain degree with Montenegrin accessions. The obtained results indicate that LDA of tuber mineral composition can be useful as an additional tool for classification of Jerusalem artichoke accessions according to their origin using data of five elements (Na, Zn, Mg, Cu, Fe and K).