Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is an important oilseed crop worldwide and it has recently become the crop of interest in Ghana. In this study, 142 soybean accessions were genotyped with 34 SSR markers and concurrently evaluated for five quantitative and two qualitative phenotypic traits. Twenty‐nine of the SSR markers were polymorphic with mean allele number of 5.3, polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.51 and gene diversity of 0.55. Molecular analysis based on unweighted paired group arithmetic mean (UPGMA) clustering and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) was similar in explaining the extent of diversity within the accessions. Structure analysis placed most of the accessions into two subpopulations with 18 (12.7%) as admixtures. Principal component analysis (PCA) based on phenotypic traits revealed two clusters. Both UPGMA clustering‐based SSR data and PCA from phenotypic data showed similar results. The assembled germplasm is genetically diverse with high variation in flowering and maturity period, and key yield components which could be exploited in developing superior varieties well adapted to Ghana and West Africa.

https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pbr.12700

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Godfree Chigezahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9235-0694

https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pbr.12700

Genetic Improvement; Grain Legumes; Plant Genetic Resources; Soybean

Genes; Germplasm; Maturity; Population Structure; Soybeans; Genotypes; Ssrna Viruses; Genetic Diversity; Phenotypic Variation

Africa; West Africa

Ghana

Plant Breeding