• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.102-112
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• 1989

Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were performed on the nine quantitative characters of the one hundred and forty eight silkworm genetic stocks. The six major quantitative characters such as cocoon yield, cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight, cocoon shell percentage, larval period of the 5th instar silkworm, and total larval period showed significantly positive correlation between them. The first three principal components extracted form the initial nine variables by principal component analysis accounted for about eighty percent of original information. The first and second principal components were characterized as factors related to silk productivity, and cocoon productivity, respectively. On the basis of multivariate analysis using city block distance determined from the first three principal components to measure the phenotypic diversity, the one hundred and forty eight silkworm genetic stocks could be clustered into seven varietal groups, and the phenotypic diversity between the varietal groups was partly related to their geographical origins. Among 7 varietal group, group II and IV revealed higher silk and cocoon productivity.