A Combined Analysis of Agronomic Traits and Allozyme Allele Frequencies for 69 Cannabis Accessions

Abstract This study reports on a combined analysis of phenotypic traits and allozyme allele frequencies for 69 accessions from the CPRO Cannabis germplasm collection. Sample populations of each accession were evaluated for achene traits, cannabinoid content, days to maturity, plant height, leaflet shape, fiber traits, and root-knot nematode resistance. Sample populations were also assayed for 11 enzymes using starch gel electrophoresis and the frequencies of 49 alleles encoded at 17 gene loci were determined. The phenotypic and genetic data sets were combined and analyzed by principal components (PC) analysis. A scatter plot on the first two PC axes shows that southern and eastern Asian hemp (fiber/seed) accessions group apart from hemp accessions from Europe, Asia Minor, and central Asia. On average, the former group matured later and had significantly higher levels of THC and lower levels of CBD, wider leaflets relative to their length, longer xylem fibers, and lower bast fiber content.