Abstract：Ruichang yam is a famous local yam variety in Jiangxi Province．Due to the long-term asexual
reproduction and self-retaining seed by farmer households，varietal complexity and degeneration of Ruichang
yam is very serious，which greatly affects its germplasm conservation and sustainable utilization．This paper
collected 12 cultivars and 2 wild species of Ruichang yam from different planting regions of Ruichang City；
and carried out studies on genetic diversity and analysis of tuber nutritional quality．The results showed that a
total of 50 polymorphism bands were amplified based on the primers of 12 pairs SRAP and 11 pairs SSR from
all collected materials．There existed certain genetic differences among materials from different producing
areas．The genetic similarity coefficient was between 0.415-0.964．UPGMA cluster analysis showed that all
14 Ruichang yam materials could be divided into 2 groups，when the genetic similarity coefficient was 0.530．
The group I included 12 cultivars，and group II included 2 wild species．When the genetic coefficient was 0.735，
these 12 cultivars could be divided into 3 subclasses．The results of quality analysis indicated that there were
bigger genetic variable coefficient differences among quality index of Ruichang yam materials produced from
different areas． Among them cellulose had the largest variation range．The variable coefficient was 54.28%．
While，the variation coefficient of reducing sugar was the smallest．Principal component analysis showed that
the quality of Ruichang yam produced in Xiafan Town of Ruichang City was comparatively excellent．It was
suitable for further systematic selection and purification for rejuvenation．
