Phenetic analysis of turkey berry (Solanum torvum Sw.) based on morphological character in Semarang region

Abstract

Turkey berry (Solanum torvum Sw.) plant is originated from America, then spread widely to Asian regions. They used as food and pharmaceutical. The differences of latitude affecting morphological variations of Turkey berry since it affecting the physicochemical condition of their habitat, namely temperature and pH. Environmental temperature is one of important factor since it influencing the interaction process, while pH determines the growth and formation of chlorophyll. Morphological variations in turkey berry plant cause a similarity relationship that can examined using phenetic analysis. Currently, studies of turkey berry phenetic analysis based on morphological characters have not been done yet. This study examines the morphological variations of turkey berry that grow in different altitude specifically in the Semarang area. The sampling method which used in this study is the purposive sampling method. Turkey berry samples were obtained from altitude of 300, 600 and 900 above sea level respectively. Data analysis was performed using MVSP (MultiVariate Statistical Package) application. The algorithm used in the MVSP application is UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmatic Mean) with the Simple Matching Coefficient method, or grouping method with the complaints of paired pairs by analysis of the distance between pairs. The Operations Taxonomic Units (OTUs) analyzes 27 individuals, with 33 different morphological characters. Phenetic analysis shows the coefficient corelation between OTUs reaches 0.81 which is divided into 2 main clusters and 11 sub-clusters. This shows that turkey berry does not form subspecies to grow in different inner regions.