The search for snap bean cultivars presenting better production and quality is of crucial relevance due to the agricultural importance of this crop in the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The determination of genetic divergence by multivariate analysis, through which several characters can be simultaneously dimensioned, is a rather advantageous technique since it allows to identify sources of variability, to evaluate the importance of characters for genetic divergence, and to identify genetic combinations with greater chances of success before crossings are performed. Multivariate analysis techniques allowed us to verify that common bean accessions presenting undetermined growth habits, originated from the UENF germplasm bank, show variability in relation to the evaluated traits. The Tocher optimization method allowed the formation of two groups; however, sub grouping by the same method has confirmed the occurrence of variability among group 1 accessions, from the formation of six subgroups. No relationship between genetic diversity and geographic origin of the accesses was found by using this method. The genetic divergence observed among the common bean accesses was quantified by three canonic variables, which explained around 79% of the total available variation. Discarding the variables of lower relative importance allowed us to identify the traits that have truly contributed to the determination of the genetic divergence: 100-seed weight, days for flowering, pod diameter, pod length, total number of beans and average number of beans. Accesses UENF-1429, UENF-1432, UENF-1442, UENF-1445 and UENF-1448 showed a good performance for the evaluated traits and genetic divergence, being indicated for use in breeding programs of snap beans.
Phaseolus vulgaris L.; breeding; cluster analysis; canonical variables; multivariate analysis
