Multivariate analysis, trait association and biochemical profiling of finger millet germplasm for identification of potential genotypes for bioethanol production

Finger millet is a climate-resilient, nutrient-rich crop well-suited to marginal environments. Recently, its lignocellulosic biomass has gained attention as a potential feedstock for biofuel production. Despite Odisha being a hotspot for landrace diversity, limited studies have evaluated finger millet germplasm for biofuel-relevant traits using multivariate analysis. The present study characterized 30 finger millet genotypes collected from AICRP on small millets, Berhampur, Odisha, during Kharif 2022. Observations were recorded for 8 morphological traits relevant to biofuel potential. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and correlation matrix analysis were employed to identify traits contributing most to variability and to group genotypes with superior biofuel-related characteristics. The first three principal components exhibited 76.88 % of the total variation. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between grain yield per plant and the number of ears per plant at both genotypic (r = 0.916) and phenotypic (r = 0.866) levels, indicating the potential for indirect selection on the basis of ears per plants to enhance yield. Based on mean performances and PCA results, 6 promising genotypes were selected for further biochemical analysis. Estimation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content revealed that genotype G30-GN-2-2 excelled in both grain yield and bioethanol potential, highlighting its suitability for use in future biofuel-oriented breeding programs. This fills a critical research gap by integrating multivariate tools to identify promising dual-purpose finger millet genotypes. The findings support the potential of finger millet as a renewable biofuel resource and offer a strategic framework for breeding programs aimed at enhancing both yield and bioenergy efficiency.