PHENOTYPIC VARIABILITY AND VEGETATIVE PERFORMANCE OF SWEET POTATO CULTIVARS [morning glory potatoes (L.) Lam] IN TIMOR-LESTE: A CASE STUDY IN HERA, DILI (2024).

Abstract

Introduction: An exploratory study is written on the phenotypic characterization and vegetative performance of several sweet potato cultivars [Morning glory potatoes (L.) Lam] prospected in Timor-Leste. In three municipal markets of Dili, in 2016, 25 cultivars were collected that manifested differences in morphological characteristics observed; These 25 cultivars were propagated in nurseries for 1 month, and 9 did not survive. The remaining 16 were planted on a plot of land in Hera, Dili, in separate rows of 1.5 m, each row associated with a cultivar, with the propagules within the row separated by 1 m and relating to 8 replicates (clones) per cultivar, in a simple experimental design; the propagules consisted essentially of tubers, or, in its absence, sections of branches of about 20 cm. Research Methodology: Morphological characterization data were obtained by direct observation method, performed once a month for three months. For biometric measurement purposes, with only 12 cultivars surviving, the 20 largest branches (20x12 repetition = 240 branches) per cultivar were selected for three consecutive months, measuring branch lengths and others; Longitudinal surf was evaluated after one month in the nursery while lateral break was estimated after two months in the field. Results: A total of 20 forms or parameters were used in the morphoagronomic characterization of the cultivars, carried out and/or reconfirmed throughout the process in the 16 cultivars mentioned above. The biometric measurements, in a total of 10 types, refer to 12 cultivars, in which there were several sequential measurements in time, while the evaluation of the total production of tuberous units, in number and weight, only occurred at the end of the experiment. In the similarity matrix for the 16 cultivars evaluated, it can be seen that there are affinities and differences in a very marked amplitude. Discussion: It can be concluded, in general, that the tendency of production of tuberous units varies inversely with the growth of main branches, thus there is competition between the growth of the main branches. In addition, there is evidence of a positive or increasing linear relationship between the average weight of ‖ and the weight of the largest tubes in each variety, which can be considered relevant (R2 41%) it can be expected that, in the general tendency, a total of 10 grams in the averageweight of the "tu terciles" will be translated into a total ofabout 18 grams in the weight of the largest. Conclusion: In the 16 cultivars coded on a case-by-case basis, it was possible to make an association with technical designations of varieties used in the germplasm conservation center in Triloc a and in the Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Timor-Leste in Dari Sula of the Municipality of Baucau, and also in the scientific literature, the key point in realization of study cited by (Maria C.G & Tilman CB., 2024).