Morpho-agronomic Characterization Research Articles

Morpho-agronomic variability of artichoke seed-propagated hybrids

Using artichoke seed-propagated hybrids increases yield and reduces implementation costs what ensures the expansion of this crop. Morpho-agronomic characterization allows a thorough knowledge of each material enabling the producer to select the hybrid that meets the environmental conditions and the consumer market. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the morpho-agronomic variability of four artichoke hybrids propagated by seed, based on qualitative (multicategorical) and quantitative traits. The study used the hybrid 'Concert F1', 'Madrigal F1', 'Opal F1' and 'Symphony F1', distributed in a completely randomized design with two replications and eight plants per repetition. The experiment was conducted at the Agronomy Faculty, Rosario National University, located at 33°1'; 60°59'. Analysis of variance was performed for quantitative characters and multivariate for both characters. Ward's clustering method, from Euclidean distance average was used for both characters. Both multicategorical and quantitative traits allowed the formation of three groups. Among the multicategorical traits studied 72.67% of the difference between hybrids must be the depth of emargination, violet coloration, the length of the thorns of the external bract of the primary head, the longitudinal shape of the primary head, and the density of the internal bract of the primary head. Among the quantitative traits, 97.81% of the difference between hybrids was due to the days to harvest, plant height, and the height of the main rod. There is variability among hybrids, which allows the producer to grow the most suitable material to environmental conditions and meets the needs of consumer market.

Morphoagronomic characterization of 49 Capsicum sp. accessions for breeding selection purposes

Morphoagronomic characterization of 49 <i>Capsicum</i> sp. accessions for breeding selection purposes

English

This work had as objective the morpho-agronomic characterization of germplasm of cassava (Manhiot esculenta Crantz) from the Brazilian Region Middle North and the selection of genotypes. The germplasm collection was carried out in autochthonous fields. 10 genotypes of which, 8 were ethno-varieties and 2 modern varieties (BRS Dourada and BRS Gema de Ovo), were collected. A completely randomized blocks design was used and the experiment was carried out in January of 2013 in Chapadinha-MA, Brazil. The morphological and agronomical characterizations were carried out at eight months after planting and at the harvesting time, respectively. The frequency of genotypes in each descriptor class and the entropy level for each descriptor were calculated. There was high phenotypic difference in the germplasm for most of the characters evaluated. Lowest entropy levels corresponded to the descriptors sinuosity of foliar lobe, margins of stipules, pubescence of apical bud, growing habit and color of stem epidermis. Highest entropy and consequently higher variability were noticed in petiole color, color of stem cortex, plant kind and peduncle presence. The genotypes Rampa and Turiacu have higher productive and marketing value, thus are excellent alternatives for adoption and cultivation in the Middle North Region. The work proved to be a prominent approach in the screening and selection of promising and contrasting cassava genotypes. Cassava genetic resources occurring in the Brazilian Middle North Region represent a valuable resource in breeding programs of this crop. Key words: Characterization, genotypes selection, M. esculenta.

Morphoagronomic characterization and genetic diversity of a common bean RIL mapping population derived from the cross Rudá x AND 277.

Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) are a valuable resource for building genetic linkage maps. The presence of genetic variability in the RILs is essential for detecting associations between molecular markers and loci controlling agronomic traits of interest. The main goal of this study was to quantify the genetic diversity of a common bean RIL population derived from a cross between Rudá (Mesoamerican gene pool) and AND 277 (Andean gene pool). This population was developed by the single seed descent method from 500 F2 plants until the F10 generation. Seven quantitative traits were evaluated in the field in 393 RILs, the parental lines, and five control cultivars. The plants were grown using a randomized block design with additional controls and three replicates. Significant differences were observed among the RILs for all evaluated traits (P < 0.01). A comparison of the RILs and parental lines showed significant differences (P < 0.01) for the number of days to flowering (DFL) and to harvest (DH), productivity (PROD) and mass of 100 beans (M100); however, there were no significant differences for plant architecture, degree of seed flatness, or seed shape. These results indicate the occurrence of additive x additive epistatic interactions for DFL, DH, PROD, and M100. The 393 RILs were shown to fall into 10 clusters using Tocher's method. This RIL population clearly contained genetic variability for the evaluated traits, and this variability will be crucial for future studies involving genetic mapping and quantitative trait locus identification and analysis.

A multi-trait characterization of the ‘Friariello’ landrace: a Mediterranean resource for sweet pepper breeding

Landraces are an important resource for crop breeding, due to their resilience and content of quality traits. However, genetic and phenotypic variability needs to be carefully characterized for proper direct and indirect use. In the present study, a multidisciplinary approach was carried out to assess the Italian sweet pepper landrace ‘Friariello’. A total of 18 traditional accessions were compared with five hybrids and two ecotypes with similar fruit typology. Genetic and morpho-agronomic characterization allowed us to distinguish five different group types of ‘Friariello’. Accessions showing two/three lobes at the blossom end of the fruit were found to be the most productive, whereas the genotypes showing one/two lobes at the blossom end were the most homogeneous. A total of 167 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified in the collection analysed. Moreover, of the 37 targeted VOCs, 29 showed significant differences in content among the pepper genotypes studied. Of such VOCs related to main flavours described for pepper in the literature, ten were found to be the major determinants of variability among the derived ‘Friariello’ groups. A slightly negative, albeit not significant, correlation was observed between ascorbic acid (AsA) content and agronomic traits, suggesting a better quality for less productive accessions, but also the possibility to improve yield without significantly reducing the AsA levels. The approach used allowed us to define how the different typologies can be used for different breeding purposes, integrating the peculiar properties in order to establish a desirable landrace ideotype. Furthermore, valuable sources for improving quality traits in pepper breeding were identified.

Morphoagronomic Characterization of Tomato Plants and Fruit: A Multivariate Approach

Consumers in the fresh fruit market choose fruits mainly following criteria related to the external appearance. However, the introduction of new material for planting depends on the productive capacity of the plant as well as on the formation of fruit that meets consumer desires. Given the above, the objective of this study was to morphoagronomically characterize tomato genotypes using multivariate statistics. The genotype seedlings (Ellus, Black Mauri, Green Zebra, Green Tomato, Pomodoro Marmande, Pomodoro Fiorentino, Pitanga, and Black Krim) were transplanted 30 days after sowing. The morphoagronomic characterization of the genotypes was carried out by evaluating plants and fruits. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, namely, position and variability measurements. In addition, a multivariate cluster analysis and a principal component analysis were carried out for plant and fruit attributes. The cluster and principal component analyses were efficient in characterizing plants and/or fruits of different tomato genotypes. Such efficiency enhances result interpretation and proposed inferences, with applied relevance for the producers. The genotype Ellus has a combination of morphoagronomic plant and fruit traits superior to other genotypes. Such superior traits enable a high productivity.

Morpho-agronomic characterization of Indian soybean for grouping and varietal protection

Eighty-six soybean varieties differing for various morphological characters were characterized for DUS traits during the kharif seasons from 2007 to 2010 to protect these varieties under Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act (PPV&FRA) 2001. Results of their PCA revealed that days to 50% flowering, plant height and nodes per plant traits accounted for the most variability. The cluster analysis grouped 86 varieties in to 13 groups. The present study proposes sets of hybridization between the high and low mean yield clusters to achieve yield gain in soybean.

Potencial ornamental de acessos de pimenta

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o potencial ornamental de dez acessos de pimenta Capsicum spp. procedentes da Coleção de Germoplasma da Universidade Federal do Piauí, Brasil. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, no Departamento de Fitotecnia, do Centro de Ciências Agrárias, no município de Teresina, Piauí, obedecendo ao delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, com três repetições. Na caracterização morfoagronômica dos acessos, conforme orientação do Bioversity International, utilizaram-se os seguintes descritores qualitativos e quantitativos para o gênero Capsicum: forma da folha, hábito de crescimento da planta, antocianina no nó da planta, posição da flor, cor da corola, cor do fruto no estado intermediário e maduro, forma do fruto, forma do ápice do fruto, textura da epiderme do fruto, comprimento do fruto, comprimento do pedicelo, persistência do fruto maduro e altura da planta. Dentre os dez acessos avaliados, sete foram considerados com potencial ornamental: CGC-06 (C. chinense), CGC-07 (C. chinense), CGC-11 (C. annuum var. glabriusculum), CGC-23 (C. chinense), CGC-36 (C. annuum var. glabriusculum), CGC-59 (C. annuum var. glabriusculum) e CGC-67 (C. annuum var. glabriusculum). O CGC 11 apresentou estética mais harmoniosa, com flores eretas, as quais são de fácil percepção; frutos eretos e vistosos e folhas de formato lanceolado.

Identification of Three Distinct Eggplant Subgroups within the Solanum aethiopicum Gilo Group from Côte d’Ivoire by Morpho-Agronomic Characterization

The Solanum aethiopicum Gilo group, described as homogeneous, shows a high diversity, at least at the morphological level. In Côte d’Ivoire, farmers distinguish three subgroups, named “N’Drowa”, “Klogbo” and “Gnangnan”, within this group. Data were obtained from 10 quantitative and 14 qualitative morpho-agronomic traits measured in 326 accessions of Gilo eggplants, at flowering and fruiting stages. Univariate and multivariate analyses allowed clearly clustering the studied accessions into the three subgroups. Fruit taste, leaf blade width, fruit diameter, leaf blade length, fruit weight, fruit color at commercial ripeness, petiole length, germination time, plant breadth, fruit position on the plant, fruit length and flowering time were, in decreasing order, the twelve most discriminating traits. Compared to the “Gnangnan” subgroup, the “N’Drowa” subgroup has smaller plant breadth and larger leaves. The fruits of this subgroup were mainly white at commercial ripeness, larger and sweeter. Most of the traits of the “Klogbo” subgroup were intermediate between those of the “N’Drowa” and “Gnangnan” subgroups. Our results could contribute to a better understanding of S. aethiopicum diversity and to the development of a core collection for African eggplant breeding.

Epistasis and inheritance of plant habit and fruit quality traits in ornamental pepper (Capsicum annuum L.).

Two accessions of ornamental pepper Capsicum annuum L., differing in most of the characters studied, were crossed, resulting in the F1 generation, and the F2 generation was obtained through self-fertilization of the F1 generation. The backcross generations RC1 and RC2 were obtained through crossing between F1 and the parents P1 and P2, respectively. Morpho-agronomic characterization was performed based on the 19 quantitative descriptors of Capsicum. The data obtained were subjected to generation analysis, in which the means and additive variance (σa(2)), variance due to dominance deviation (σd(2)), phenotypic variance (σf(2)), genetic variance (σg(2)) and environmental variance (σm(2)) were calculated. For the full model, we estimated the mean effects of all possible homozygotes, additives, dominants, and epistatics: additive-additive, additive-dominant, and dominant-dominant. For the additive-dominant model, we estimated the additive effects, dominant effects and mean effects of possible homozygotes. The character fruit dry matter had the lowest value for broad sense heritability (0.42), and the highest values were found for fresh matter and fruit weight, 0.91 and 0.92, respectively. The lowest value for narrow sense heritability was for the minor fruit diameter character (0.33), and the highest values were found for seed yield per fruit and fresh matter, 0.87 and 0.84, respectively. The additive-dominant model explained only the variation found in plant height, canopy width, stem length, corolla diameter, leaf width, and pedicel length, but in the other characters, the epistatic effects showed significant values.

Caracterización morfológica y molecular de materiales de yacón (Smallanthus sonchifolius Poep. &amp; Endl) H. Robinson colectados en la ecorregión Eje Cafetero de Colombia

&lt;p align="left"&gt;El yacón (&lt;em&gt;Smallanthus sonchifolius &lt;/em&gt;Poep. Z&amp;amp; Endl&lt;em&gt;) H. Robinsón&lt;/em&gt;, es una Asteraceae originaria de la región Andina. Es una planta utilizada por las culturas antepasadas como una fruta refrescante o alimento bajo en calorías. Sus raíces están compuestas mayormente por agua (85 a 90%). El 40 al 70% de su peso seco está en forma de frutooligosacáridos (FOS), azúcares con efectos favorables para la salud humana, y con un alto poder antioxidante, por lo que es considerado como medicinal, para tratar problemas de diabetes. La alta demanda y precio del producto en el mercado nacional e internacional hacen de ésta especie una opción rentable para los agricultores de la ecorregión Eje Cafetero, que cuenta con las condiciones agroecológicas ideales para su cultivo. Sin embargo, no se conoce información precisa sobre los materiales presentes en la región, ni de sus rendimientos, lo que dificulta proponer un manejo agronómico adecuado, para optimizar su producción. Esta investigación se realizó en cinco departamentos de la ecorregión Eje Cafetero, colectando y caracterizando morfológicamente la especie. Posteriormente se realizaron evaluaciones morfoagronómicos empleando 18 descriptores cuantitativos y ocho cualitativos, y caracterización molecular con la técnica RAMs, utilizando seis iniciadores. La caracterización morfoagronómica clasificó los diez biotipos colectados en tres grupos. La caracterización molecular diferenció cuatro grupos, que guardan estrecha relación con el agrupamiento según los caracteres cualitativos encontrados. Se concluye que las accesiones del grupo uno, son las más apropiadas para la producción de tubérculos, las del grupo dos, para la producción doble propósito y el grupo tres, para la producción de hojas. El análisis de correspondencia múltiple indica que en el germoplasma existen caracteres importantes, que pueden servir para la selección de posibles parentales con caracteres cualitativos deseables para mejoradores, agricultores y consumidores.&lt;/p&gt;

Caracterización Morfo Agronómica de Híbridos Provenientes del Cruzamiento entre Especies Diploides de Papa

&lt;p&gt;Se realizó la caracterización morfoagronómica de 2285 genotipos provenientes de 20 familias obtenidas a partir de cruzamientos entre progenitores diploides, cultivados y silvestres de las especies &lt;em&gt;Solanum tuberosum &lt;/em&gt;grupo Phureja, S&lt;em&gt;olanum stenotomun &lt;/em&gt;subsp. &lt;em&gt;stenotomun, Solanum stenotomun &lt;/em&gt;subsp. &lt;em&gt;goniocalyx y Solanum &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;bukasovii. &lt;/em&gt;El experimento fue establecido en el municipio de Facatativa (Cundinamarca) y se evaluaron 35 características en cinco etapas del cultivo. Para el registro de los datos se utilizó la guía para las caracterizaciones morfológicas básicas en colecciones de papas nativas del centro internacional de la papa. Al registrarse variables mixtas se utilizó la distancia genética de Gower. Se identificaron cinco grupos principales, en el grupo donde se ubicaron principalmente los cruzamientos entre variedades, se observó un aumento en la cantidad de pares de foliolos laterales, en el grupo donde se ubicó la variedad Guaneña y algunos cruzamientos de &lt;em&gt;S. stenotomun &lt;/em&gt;subsp. &lt;em&gt;goniocalix se &lt;/em&gt;observaron brotes violeta en forma predominante. Los cruzamientos de &lt;em&gt;S. bukasovii &lt;/em&gt;presentaron color de flor lila y/o morado intenso, hábito de crecimiento semiarrosetado y bajos rendimientos. En los cruzamientos de &lt;em&gt;S. stenotomum &lt;/em&gt;subsp &lt;em&gt;stenotonum &lt;/em&gt;se presentaron tubérculos de piel roja y ojos profundos.&lt;/p&gt;

Molecular characterization of oil palmElaeis guineensisJacq. materials from Cameroon

The narrow genetic base of existing commercial oil palm cultivars has prompted oil palm breeders to give increased importance to augmenting these genetic resources because the sustainable development of the crop depends largely on the availability of genetic diversity and its use. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to conduct a molecular characterization of anex situcollection of oil palmElaeis guineensisJacq. populations from the Republic of Cameroon using microsatellite molecular markers. Overall, 31 simple sequence repeats were polymorphic, with a total of 223 alleles, 78.4% of which were found at low frequency. The total genetic diversity was relatively high (HT= 0.673). The genetic differentiation between geographical regions was low (GST= 0.023,P= 0.001), and between families it was high (GST= 0.166,P= 0.001), showing greater variation between families than among geographical regions. The molecular data indicate that genetic diversity among the genotypes evaluated is mainly distributed within regions, suggesting that there is no isolation by geographical distance and that all the sampled individuals form a single diverse population. Therefore, it was concluded that a relatively low number of accessions (120 in the analysed case) that includes at least one representative of each family would allow us to efficiently collect almost the entire genetic diversity of Cameroon within the collection studied. This will allow for the efficient use of genetic resources and a reduction in morpho-agronomic characterization costs.

Morpho-Agronomic Characterization and Evaluation of In-Country Sweet Potato Accessions in Southeastern Nigeria

The experiment was conducted in 2010 and 2011 to evaluate and characterize fifteen in-country sweet potato accessions for root characteristics and root yield, plant habits, ground cover, severity of root damage by Cylas puncticollis and Meloidogyne incognita and identify duplications. Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed for number of roots per plot, salable roots per plot, unsalable roots per plot and root yield. The highest number of roots per plot, salable roots and root tuber yield were given by E10, followed by B21 while the lowest came from E17. The result indicated B26 as highly susceptible to C. puncticollis, E3, E11, E6, E27 and TIS 87/0087 were resistant, while B6, E5, B2, E17, B21, E14, E7, B23 and E10 were highly resistant to the pest. Seven accessions (E5, B6, B2, E14, E7, B23 and E10) were highly resistant, five accessions (E3, B26, E11, E2 and TIS 87/0087) showed moderate resistance while B2, E6 and E17 were highly susceptible to root knot disease. Ground cover of less than 50% was identified with B21 (erect type), the semi-erect types (E5, E6, and B23) had ground cover of 50-75%, while the spreading types (B6, B2, E11, E17, E14 and E7) had 76-90% ground cover. The extremely spreading types (E3, B26 and E27) had more than 90% ground cover. Six accessions (E5, E3, E6, E14, B23 and E10) had white skin, seven (B6, B26, B2, E27, E17, E7 and TIS 87/0087) were pale pink while two (E11 and B12) were pink. The root flesh of one accession (B6) was white, three yellow, while the remaining eleven accessions were creamy, and E27 and TIS 87/0087 were duplicates.

Preliminary characterization and morpho-agronomic evaluation of the olive germplasm collection of the Mendoza province (Argentina)

In Mendoza, little is known about the olive germplasm, and even though there is a collection, studies about characterization and evaluation are scarce. The aims of this work were to make a morpho-agronomic characterization of the Mendoza olive collection and to identify locally adapted accessions with a good aptitude for oil production. Quantitative traits were measured in pit, fruit, inflorescence, and leave samples, and oil content, flowering and maturity days were also measured. In order to group the genetic material and evaluate the phenotypic variability, descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, and principal components analysis were used. The 61 accessions were grouped in 12 clusters based on the multivariate analysis of 19 traits. The collection featured phenotypic variability for all the studied traits, especially for the fruit fresh weight, pulp-pit ratio, and oil content on fresh weight basis. Seventeen accessions suitable for oil production were selected, seven of which could also be used for table.

Collection and morphological characterization of Lagenaria siceraria germplasm from the Mediterranean region of Turkey

The landraces of Lagenaria siceraria in Turkey show great diversity for morphologic traits, particularly in fruit size and shape even though Turkey is not centre of genetic diversity for L. siceraria. In Turkey, L. siceraria is used as food, musical instruments and containers, according to the type and shape of their fruits. Its diversity has been gradually declining over the last 25 years. With the aim of assessing variations in plant, fruit and seed morphology among the L. siceraria landraces, 15 field trips for collection of germplasm to southern parts of Turkey (Mediterranean region) were carried out in the period of 2003–2004. The study also aimed at developing a representative core collection of the material to guide future studies and uses concerning its existing genetic diversity in Turkey. A total of 182 accessions (fruits and/or seeds) were collected. The seeds from all the sample material were sown in green house conditions at the experimental station of the Faculty of Agriculture of the Mustafa Kemal University in Hatay (Antakya), (36° 18′ 22′′ N, 36° 13′ 33′′ E, 82 m). In the spring of 2004, 162 out of the 182 sown seeds germinated and developed into viable seedlings. These were further transplanted in the field in 10 replicates. The morpho-agronomic characterization was carried out following the international standards for crop descriptors set by Bioversity International. The data were subject to both descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis by Principle Component Analysis. The descriptive statistics revealed that the whole collection exhibits a great deal of morphological diversity and that the subset core collection represents most of the variability. The first three principle components, calculated by using six quantitative traits, explained 26%, 21% and 17% (a total of 64%) of the total variation. Among the studied accessions, no apparently distinct patterns such as geographical origin were detected. This may suggest that the accessions have been introduced to Turkey from multiple locations and/or their diversity had been distributed almost evenly across the Mediterranean region of this country. Based on our results from the morphological characterization, 30 genotypes were selected to develop a subgroup (core) collection in order to represent most of the genetic diversity of all accessions. The work presented here is the first report about morphological characterization of Turkish L. siceraria germplasm.

COMPARISON OF MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND RAPD FOR ESTIMATING GENETIC DIVERSITY IN ABELMOSCHUS SPP.

Genetic diversity of 39 Abelmoschus spp accessions was investigated at the DNA level with the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) procedure and at the phenotypic level with stable and highly heritable morphological characters. Thirty-one random decamer primers were used to amplify DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 103 RAPD fragments were generated. Thirteen quantitative and 14 qualitative characteristics were measured on the genotypes in field experiments using randomized complete blocks design with four replications. Dendrograms were generated for genetic distance based on molecular data (RAPD) and average distance from the morphological data. Classification of all genotypes based on the two methods gave similar results. It was observed a correlation of 0.62 between molecular and morphological data. On the other hand, the comparison between molecular distance and descriptors generated only by quantitative data showed that the correlation increased to 0.88, demonstrating that the qualitative descriptors had little influence on the genotypic discrimination. The most significant correlation (0.91) was verified between morphological descriptors distance and distance generated by quantitative data. These results showed that the quantitative descriptors and the molecular approach have high potential in the okra germplasm morphoagronomic characterization. This experiment also demonstrated that the investigated genotypes grouping pattern was similar to multivariate analysis.

Assessment of genetic diversity in three subsets constituted from the ICRISAT sorghum collection using random vs non-random sampling procedures A. Using morpho-agronomical and passport data

A large collection, such as the sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] landrace collection held at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), represents a challenge for the maintenance of both the accessions of and the information documented for the germplasm collection. The accessibility and knowledge of the landrace collection are the essential factors for an efficient utilization of the genetic resources by both breeders and farmers. Different sampling strategies, either random or non-random, were proposed to obtain subsets of reduced size (core collection). Three subsets were established; a random sampling within a stratified collection (logarithmic strategy: L); a sample based upon morpho-agronomic diversity (principal component score strategy: PCS); and a sample based upon an empirical knowledge of sorghum (taxonomic strategy: T). Comparisons of these three samples for morpho-agronomic characterization and passport information were assessed to determine their impact on phenotypic diversity. For their overall diversity, the three subsets did not differ, as shown with the two-dimensional representation of the morpho-agronomic diversity and the Shannon-Weaver diversity indices. When comparisons for morpho-agronomic and passport data were considered, the PCS subset looked similar to the entire landrace collection. The L subset showed differences for characters associated with the photoperiod reaction that was considered in the stratification of the collection. The T subset was the most distinct from the entire landrace collection as it over-represented the landraces selected by farmers for specific uses and covered the widest range of geographical adaptation and morpho-agronomic characteristics.