Agro-morphological Characterization Research Articles

Characterization of West and Central African accessions from a pearl millet reference collection for agro-morphological traits and Striga resistance

AbstractTo promote the utilization of West and Central African (WCA) genetic resources of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.], this study aimed at agro-morphological characterization of selected accessions from the pearl millet reference collection, established by the Generation Challenge Program and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). A total of 81 accessions were included, comprising 78 landraces originating from 13, predominantly WCA countries and three improved cultivars. All 81 accessions were evaluated together with 18 checks for resistance to the parasitic weed Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. in an artificially infested field at one location in Niger. Determined by available seed quantity, 74 accessions were characterized together with seven checks in the rainy season 2009 in field trials under low-input and fertilized conditions in Nigeria, Niger and Mali, respectively. Wide ranges were observed for various traits. Several accessions were identified as sources for specific traits of interest, i.e. long panicles, high-grain density, earliness, Striga resistance and stable yielding across environments. The observed yield inferiority of all Genebank accessions compared with checks may indicate lost adaptation or inbreeding depression due to an insufficient effective population size during multiplication. A principal component analysis revealed an immense diversity but also strong admixture among the tested accessions, i.e. there were no clearly distinct groups. The seed of all genotypes is available from ICRISAT. The online availability of the characterization data is expected to facilitate efficient use of these pearl millet accessions by breeding programmes in WCA and worldwide.

Molecular and agro-morphological characterization of ancient wheat landraces of turkey

BackgroundTurkey is one of the important gene centers for many crop species. In this research, some ancient wheats such as tetraploid and diploid hulled wheats together with hexaploid tir wheats (Triticum aestivum ssp. leucospermum Korn.) landraces mainly adapted to harsh winter conditions of Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey were characterized at agro-morphological and molecular level. Totally 50 hulled wheat population from Kastamonu, Konya and Kayseri provinces and 15 tir wheats from Kars provinces of Turkey were in-situ collected for characterization in 2013. Some quantitative and qualitative traits of each population were determined.ResultsTwenty three hulled wheat population collected from Kastamonu province were distinguished into nine emmer and 14 einkorn wheats at morphological level. Additionally, Konya, Kayseri and Kars population were characterized as einkorn, emmer and tir wheat, respectively. Among the evaluated traits, protein ratios of hulled wheats were strikingly higher than registered cultivars. All the populations were also examined by molecular level by using fluorescently labelled 11 polymorphic SSRs primers. The primers exhibited 104 bands, ranging from 6 to 16 with a mean value 9.45 per loci. The clustering analysis separated the germplasm into two clusters which were also divided into two subclusters based on genetic similarity coefficient. Sixty-five population and five checks were analyzed to estimate mean number of alleles (N), expected and observed heterozygoties (He and Ho), polymorphism information content (PIC), Wright fix index (F), genetic deviation from Hardy-Weinberg expectation (Fit-Fis) and genetic variation (Fst) were determined as 9.45, 0.71, 0.07, 0.67, 0.90, 0.39, 0.87 and 0.39, respectively. A clear genetic deviation from Hardy – Weinberg expectation was observed among population in particular. These results showed considerable genetic variation among landraces rather than within population.ConclusionsThese molecular information has revealed genetically diverse einkorn, emmer wheat and tir wheat population could be used as parents for further breeding studies in both Turkey and abroad. Furthermore, the molecular analysis has also generally discriminated the germplasm into ploidy level.

Agro-morphological characterization of chili pepper landraces (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivated in Northern Benin

Variability study of agro-morphological characteristics is important for varietal improvement and plant breeding program. For this, 148 chili pepper landraces (Capsicum annuum L.) collected from Northern Benin were characterized using 39 (21 qualitative and 18 quantitative) morphological characters. The trial was conducted in a Fisher block design with 3 replicates at the experimental station of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FAST) of Dassa based in Central Benin. The results revealed considerable morphological variability between landraces. Twenty nine (16 quantitative and 13 qualitative) variables among the 39 examined were discriminatory and group the landraces into 4 classes when considering the qualitative variables. With quantitative variables, 9 groups were obtained. The correlations between the studied quantitative variables show that the yield parameters are correlated with the variables related to the vegetative part of the plant. This study will help breeders to better select their parents for crossing in order to produce desirable and high yielding varieties.

Agro-morphological characterization and genetic divergence assessment in bush snap bean genotypes1

ABSTRACT The characterization and identification of genetically divergent parents for crosses are important tasks in snap bean breeding programs, for a greater availability of cultivars to growers. This study aimed at characterizing bush snap bean genotypes originating from different countries; assessing the genetic divergence between the genotypes and the genetic variability extent, concerning 12 agro-morphological traits; and determining the relative importance of these traits for the genetic divergence. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design, with 29 genotypes and four replications. The UPGMA and Tocher optimization methods, both based on the generalized distance of Mahalanobis, and the canonical variables method were used to analyze the genetic divergence. The genotypes exhibited a wide range of genetic variability for the agro-morphological traits evaluated, mainly for 100-seed weight, aspect and yield of commercial pods, plant height at harvest and pod weight. A high genetic divergence was detected between the genotypes, in which the 100-seed weight and aspect of commercial pods were the most important traits for clustering. Some genotypes own desirable characteristics for these and other traits, given the favorable genetic associations between traits. The snap bean genotypes originated from different countries tended to cluster together, indicating that similar germplasm is shared among different countries, thus suggesting a strong trans-national seed exchange.

Screening of Sri Lankan rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces for drought tolerance

Twenty four (24) traditional Sri Lankan rice landraces were screened for drought tolerance at seedling stage in the greenhouse at the Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala. Four week old seedlings grown in pots filled with soil were exposed to drought condition by disconnecting water supply for two weeks. Drought tolerance was evaluated by measuring plant height and leaf width after two weeks of recovery. Agro-morphological characterization of rice landraces was made on vegetative characters and yield attributed characters. The Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) marker analysis was employed to determine the association between allelic diversity and drought tolerance of traditional rice landraces. Comparatively, the landraces Suwandal, Kirimurunga and Suduru samba showed tolerance to drought. Meanwhile, the SSR marker RM252 have shown the potential candidacy for tracing drought tolerance compared to other markers used in the study.

Agromorphological characterization of traditional sweet cherry cultivars of Castilla y León Community (Spain)

Agromorphological characterization of traditional sweet cherry cultivars of Castilla y León Community (Spain)

Agro-Morphological Characterization and Assessment of Variability within a Germplasm of Benin Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties

Agro-Morphological Characterization and Assessment of Variability within a Germplasm of Benin Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties

English

A better approach to assess plant genetic diversity is the agro-morphological characterization. The main objective of this study was to investigate the morphological variability of 87 maize (Zea mays L.) accessions collected in different agro-ecological zones of southern Benin. Thus, 16 agro-morphological characters (seven quantitative and nine qualitative) were selected from the maize descriptors. The experimental design used is an incomplete randomized block with three replications. The mixed model analysis of two factors variance revealed a very highly significant difference for all accessions for each quantitative agro-morphological characteristic evaluated. The numerical classification of all corn accessions revealed five groups of accessions. The results of the stepwise discriminant analysis revealed five agro-morphological characteristics (germination days, female flowering, plant height, ear height and sensitivity to streak) most discriminating. The results of numerical classification supervised based on the most discriminating variables enable identification of the best accessions. Comparison of the two types of accessions (local and improved) revealed a significant difference among of them for agro-morphological characteristics with some exception. The groups obtained can constitute a database for breeders in a maize breeding program.   Key words: Cultivars, biodiversity, selection, Zea mays L., Benin

Agro-morphological Characterization of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Collected in the Humid Forest and Guinea Savannah Agro-ecological Zones of Cameroon

Agro-morphological Characterization of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) Collected in the Humid Forest and Guinea Savannah Agro-ecological Zones of Cameroon

Identification and agro-morphological characterization of rice genotypes resistant to sheath blight

Rice is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world’s human population, especially in Asia. Sheath blight caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is one of the most serious diseases of rice. Research progress is limited due to non availability of absolute resistant sources to sheath blight in rice. A total of 1013 germplasm comprising of mutants, introgression lines from wild species, A, B, R lines, Tropical japonica accessions, land races from north eastern India, wild rice accessions of O. nivara and O. rufipogon and gall midge biotype differentials maintained at ICAR-IIRR were evaluated with artificial inoculation for resistance to sheath blight disease during 2012 under field conditions. The germplasm identified as resistant/moderately resistant were further tested both under glass house and field conditions in the subsequent years (2013 and 2014) and seasons (Both Kharif and Rabi). Based on three years of testing, seven genotypes such as SM 801 (N 22 mutant), 10–3 (Introgression line), Ngnololasha, Wazuhophek, Gumdhan and Phougak (land races from north east) and RP 2068-18-3-5 (gall midge biotype differential) were identified as moderately resistant to sheath blight. Agro-morphological characterization using 62 DUS descriptors for two years (2013 and 2014) revealed that disease resistance positively correlated with stem thickness and negatively with tiller number. No correlation was observed with traits like plant height and heading date with sheath blight resistance. Resistant genotypes with medium to semi dwarf stature should be used in breeding programmes in the development of sheath blight resistant cultivars.

Salient characters of Weedy rice (<em>Oryza sativa</em> f. <em>spontanea</em>) populations in highly infested areas in Sri Lanka

Abstract. Weedy rice (WR) was first reported in 1990 and it is occurring with varying population densities in all agro-ecological zones in Sri Lanka. The identification of WR eco-types using agro-morphological characters which vary with time and remains as a major problem among the farmers and the agronomists. The WR population possesses a number of pleisomorphic (primitive) and apomorphic (derived) characters. This study focuses on identification of primitive and derived characters observed in WR. The identification of the salient trends of specialization of characters in WR populations facilitates the understanding of the rate diversification of WR populations. Seeds of presumed WR eco-types were collected from five different locations in Kurunegala and Matara districts. Five replicates with three plants of each eco-type were planted in plastic pots with representative paddy soils from each location. Replicates were arranged in Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Agro-morphological characterization (using thirty characters) of WR eco-types, wild rice and cultivated rice varieties were made using a Standard Characterization Catalogue. The collected data were separated into nominal and scalar variables and the nominal data were used to construct Classification and Regression Trees using CART algorithm. The long-fully awned and absence of awn were pleisomorphic characters and short-fully awned and long-partly awned characters were apomorphic in WR eco-type populations in Sri Lanka. These characters could be hypothesized as derived from mixing of germplasm either of cultivated or wild rice varieties indicating the possibilities of cross-pollination among wild, cultivated and weedy rice eco-types. Keywords. Agro-morphological, Oryza sativa f. spontanea , salient trends, Weedy rice.

Characterization of Phenotypic Diversity of Sorghum Collection for Developing Breeding Material

Agro-morphological characterization of sorghum collection in Senegal showed a wide range of variation, linked to traits like plant duration, plant height, and yield components. Sorghum accessions or landrace characterized by short duration, high, and low-medium yield components are the most represented in the collection. Simple correlations between variables of different types relating to phenology, vegetative growth, and yield components are very different, showing a relative independence of characters, and thus a wide phenotypic diversity. This diversity can be explained by plant duration, plant height, grain weight per foot, and the shape of the panicle. From these agro-morphological characteristics, varietal groups based on similarity were identified and accessions with interesting agro-morphological characteristics clustered. Racially diversity, dominated by Guinea, caudatum and Durra are also observed. This collection is an interesting breeding material for improving sorghum.

The diversity of African leafy vegetables: agromorphological characterization of subsets of AVRDC’s germplasm collection

The diversity of African leafy vegetables: agromorphological characterization of subsets of AVRDC’s germplasm collection

Participatory evaluation of Guinea yam (Dioscorea cayenensis Lam.–D. rotundata Poir. complex) landraces from Benin and agro-morphological characterization of cultivars tolerant to drought, high soil moisture and chips storage insects

Guinea yam (Dioscorea cayenensis Lam.–D. rotundata Poir. complex) is an important tuber crop that highly contributes to food security and poverty alleviation in Benin. However, its production is seriously affected by many biotic and abiotic constraints which could be overcame by concentrating the production on resistant or tolerant cultivars. In order to identify such cultivars that are known to exist in Benin traditional agriculture, 51 villages were randomly selected throughout the production zones and surveyed. Out of the 426 cultivars (subject to synonymy) evaluated using participatory approach and 13 agronomic, culinary, and technological traits, 25, 47, 49, 64 and 64 cultivars respectively tolerant to poor soils, nematodes, high soil moisture (adaptability to lowland), drought and chips (peeled and dried tuber) storage insects were, among others, identified. These pools of cultivars could serve in breeding program or be directly used in varietal exchanges towards the zones of interests. The agromorphological characterisation conducted per pool of performing cultivars revealed the existence of many duplicates that should be clarified with the use of molecular markers. Flowering, sex and intensity of flowering of the different cultivars were analysed and revealed a low rate (11.68 %) of non-floriferous plants, a high rate (61.03 %) of plants with low intensity of flowering and five types of male inflorescences indicating a hypothetical evolution towards the suppression of flowering with the cultivated yams.

Determination of the genetic relatedness of fig (Ficus carica L.) accessions using RAPD fingerprint and their agro-morphological characterization

Fig cultivation is widespread in Campania, but its production assumes economic relevance mainly in Cilento-Salerno area, thanks to the production of Fico Bianco del Cilento DOP.According to Convention on Biological Diversity, the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are required for sustainable agriculture and food security (CBD, 1992).Following these considerations, a research was carried out to collect and characterize the fig germplasm of “Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni”, in order to safeguard genetic resources of this area in relation to the plant breeders' needs and other users.The accessions collected were characterized for bio-agronomical and pomological features. Moreover, a molecular characterization was performed using RAPD molecular markers. Some of the characterized accessions show pomological and organoleptic characteristic of interest for growers, breeders and for food-processing industry.A total of 16 RAPD primers produced 278 reproducible bands of which 220 (79.13%) were polymorphic. Genetic analysis, estimated by the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging (UPGMA), revealed the genetic structure and relationships among the local and reference germplasm. Twelve Italian fig ecotypes were characterized by RAPD analysis, showing that this is an efficient method to evaluate the Campania fig tree diversity for ex-situ conservation.

Phenotypic characterization of indigenous rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm collected from the state of Nagaland, India

Nagaland is one of the eight states in the north-eastern region of India, where a considerable diversity exists in cultivated rice. Recent exploration in this tribal-dominated state has resulted in a collection of 130 rice accessions growing under diverse agroecological conditions. The agromorphological characterization data of 124 rice landraces revealed a significant variability in plant architecture and grain morphological and quality traits. Multivariate analyses including principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis were performed to assess the patterns of morphological variation. The PCA extracted 12 components, which explained 75.4% of the total variation for 38 quantitative and qualitative traits. The cluster analysis grouped 124 rice landraces into five clusters, and the number of landraces in each cluster ranged from 1 to 59. The correlations among the traits are discussed, which will be useful in considering traits for genetic improvement in grain yield and quality. The landraces have been conserved in the national genebank for further utilization.

Agro-morphological characterization and assessment of variability, heritability, genetic advance and divergence in bacterial blight resistant rice genotypes

Genetic based knowledge of different growth traits including morphological, physiological and developmental plays fundamental role in the improvement of rice. Genetic divergence allows superior recombinants which are essential in any crop development project. Forty-one rice genotypes including bacterial blight (BB) resistant and susceptible checks were assessed for 13 morphological traits. Among the genotypes, almost all the traits exhibited highly significant variation. The higher extent of genotypic (GCV) as well as phenotypic coefficients of variation (PCV) were noticed for number of tillers hill−1, total number of spikelets panicle−1, number of filled grains panicle−1, and yield hill−1. High heritability together with high genetic advance was observed for total number of spikelets panicle−1, number of filled grains panicle−1, and yield hill−1 indicating dominant role of additive gene action in the expression of these traits. Number of filled grains panicle−1 exhibited positive correlation with most of the traits. Yield hill−1 showed a good number of highly significant positive correlations with number of filled grain panicle−1, total number of spikelets panicle−1, 1000 grain weight hill−1, number of panicle hill−1, and panicle length. The UPGMA dendrogram divided all the genotypes in to six major clusters. The PCA showed 13 morphological traits generated about 71% of total variation among all the genotypes under this study. On the basis of 13 morphological traits, genotypes such as IRBB2, IRBB4, IRBB13, IRBB21, and MR263 could be hybridized with genotypes MR84, MR159, MRQ50, MRQ74, PH9 and IR8 in order to develop suitable BB resistant rice genotypes.

Agromorphological characterization, cyanogenesis and productivity of accessions of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) collected in Northern Spain

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is an essential element of sustainable livestock systems in temperate climates because of its adaptability to a range of management and soil fertility conditions. The performance of 15 accessions of white clover collected in northern Spain, and of two cultivars, the medium-leaved Huia and the large-leaved California, grown as spaced plants in Galicia, and in sward plots in Asturias was compared over a period of two years. The data obtained were reduced to two principal components that cumulatively explained 92.4% of the total variance. Cluster analysis identified three groups of accessions that described 71% of the phenotypic variation among accessions. One group of five accessions collected from upland sites was characterized by low dry matter yield, low height, reduced plant spread, short petioles, small leaves and thin stolons. This group can be defined as small-leaved and of interest for gardening. Another group, composed only by the cv. California and the cv. Huia, was characterized by high plant spread and height, long wide leaves and thick petioles and stolons; dry matter yields were similar to those of the first group. The last group, which includes ten accessions collected from low and medium altitude sites, had the highest dry matter yields and intermediate morphological character between the previous groups. This group can be defined as medium-leaved and of interest for grazing and/or cutting.

Collection and agro-morphological characterization of aromatic short grain rice in eastern India

Exploration and collection of aromatic short grain rice were undertaken in tribal dominated districts of Orissa viz., Dhenkanal, Anugul, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Phulbani and Cuttack. A total of 55 germplasm accessions were collected with detailed passport information. Analysis of variance for 16 quantitative morpho-agronomic characters showed very significant results. The qualitative characters were recorded as per International Rice Research Institute-International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IRRI-IBPGR) descriptors and frequency distribution was also presented. The range, mean and coefficient of variation for different quantitative characters were mentioned. The study revealed that the leaf length varied from 30.7 cm (Kanika) to 73.6 cm (Basuabhog). The culm height varied from 90.5 cm (Thakurbhog) to 184.4 cm (Jabaphool). Culm number is also high and ranged from 8.9 (Dhusara) to 20.0 (Vasumati). The panicle length varied from 22.2 cm (Banspatri) to 32.06 cm (Kalajeera) with mean length, 27.3 cm. High F-values were observed in leaf length (F = 155.56), plant height (F = 159.24), flag leaf length (F = 120.73), days to 50% flowering (F = 669.77). The good yielders are Chhotbasmati, Pimpudibas, Lajkuri, Jaigundi, Kanika, Bishnubhog. These landraces can be popularized among the farmers and can be used as donor in varietal development programme. Key words: Exploration, collection, characterization, frequency distribution, aromatic short grain rice, Orissa.

Agro-Morphological Characterization and Assessment of Variability in Aromatic Rice Germplasm

The present studies were carried out to characterize seventy-one aromatic rice germplasm from IGKV, Raipur. These germplasm were characterized and grouped on the basis of anthocyanin pigmentation, plant habit, and awning character. On the basis of pigmentation distribution in 10 plant parts, a total of twelve groups were formed with group one having no pigmentation and group twelve with pigmentation in 9 plant parts. On the basis of plant habit and awning character, three groups of each were formed. The genetic parameters for the ten agronomic traits indicated that the selection of genotypes may be done for fertile spikelets per panicle, spikelet density, spikelet sterility percentage, and hundred seed weight. Thus, on the basis of above characters, the genotypes Tulsi Mala, Baanspati, Ganga Balu, Samund Chini, Tulsi Amrit, Dudh Dhan, Kari Gilas, Shankar Jeera, and Jata Shankar may be selected for future study. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjar.v37i1.11168 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 37(1): 1-8, March 2012