Genetic diversity of Amaranthus species in South Africa

Abstract

Amaranthus species plays an important role in sustaining food security and alleviation of malnutrition in South Africa. A number of Amaranthus genotypes have been collected and conserved in the gene bank of the ARC–Roodeplaat Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Institute, South Africa. It is important to genetically evaluate germplasm and select superior parental lines for utilisation in future Amaranthus breeding in the country. Thirty-two Amaranthus genotypes were therefore selected and evaluated in field plantings for quantitative morphological traits using a randomised complete block design across two seasons. Genetic parameters were estimated for 14 phenotypic traits and a considerable amount of genetic variability was observed. Characters such as thousand seed weight, dry biomass, number of leaves, leaf length and panicle length showed high heritability estimates and genetic advance. The Pearson correlation coefficient for the traits showed that there were significant (P ≤ 0.01) correlations among some of the phenotypic traits. Cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into six different groups and a singleton based on their genetic similarity. The clustering of the genotypes based on their genetic similarity will help in the identification of diverse parents for use in the breeding programme.