The Cluster of Local Maize Accessions Based on Seed Characteristics from North Sumatra

T HE use of local maize is still in high demand by farmers in Indonesia. The development of local maize needs to be discovered through a morphological approach. This study was to obtain seed characteristics and similarities of local maize from North Sumatra. Local maize accession seeds were taken by four districts/cities (Binjai, Serdang Bedagai, Deli Serdang, and Mandailing Natal) from North Sumatra, Indonesia from July to September 2022. A hybrid variety of maize was selected for comparison. Seed characteristics were measured in each accession with four replications. A descriptive-analytic method was selected in this study and data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and followed by Tukey at P <0.05. Correlation analysis, similarity matrix, hierarchical cluster, and constellation plot were constructed in this study. The results showed that SB-1; DS-3; SB-4; and SB-2 accessions had higher seed characteristics than other accessions. The SB-5 accession had the nearest neighbors (0.743) and two accessions (BI-1; DS-2) were classified into one cluster with a hybrid variety. This finding indicates that several local maize accessions are nearest to the hybrid characteristics. A novelty of this study informed that local maize had an opportunity to be used in the fields.