Abstract

To study agronomic attributes of milk thistle (Silybum marianum Gaertn.), an important medicinal plant, twenty-five milk thistle genotypes including twenty-three ecotypes from Iran along two introduced varieties, CN seeds and Budakalaszi, were grown in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Analysis of variance for studied attributes showed large variation among the ecotypes. Means of some ecotypes such as Tatar and Parsabad were the highest for seed yield in comparing to other ecotypes even the introduced breeding varieties. In regard to phenotypic correlations, seed number in capsule, seed weight in capsule and main capsule diameter were the most important milk thistle yield components. Cluster analysis based on studied traits categorized the entries into three distinct clusters. The grouping had some correspondence to the geographical pattern.

Key words: Cluster analysis, ecotype, milk thistle, yield components.