Agromorphological diversity of local Bambara groundnut (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vigna subterranea</Emphasis> (L.) Verdc.) collected in Benin

Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) is a neglected and less exploited species in Benin. However, the rational use of the different landraces available involves an appropriate knowledge of their characteristics. This study examined the characteristics of 52 local landraces of Bambara groundnut traditionally cultivated in Benin based on 12 qualitative and 11 quantitative variables, in order to expose those of good qualities. After a classification based on the morphological variables of the seeds, the experimental field was installed in a completely randomized device of blocks repeated three times. The collected data was analyzed with Statistica 7.1 and NTSYS PC 2.2. softwares using qualitative characteristics (Growth’s type, Stem’s hairiness, Flower’s colour, Leave’s shape etc.). As result, the number of morphotypes increased from 18 (out of classification) to 47. Therefore, it appears that the Benin collection of Bambara groundnut is broad in morphological variability. The analysis of the principal component of the quantitative variables revealed three specific classes within the collection. The most efficient variety which belonged to the second class, had a high field yield per hectare (> 1 t/ha). The Souhouloumankpa variety yielded the earliest (103 days after sowing) in addition to the high field yield. The study also showed a positive relationship between 100 seed’s weight, their length, the number of seeds per plant and the seed’s field yield in kg/ha. For a sustainable preservation and an improvement of the available resources, a molecular characterization of the Bambara groundnut landraces in Benin Republic needs to be done.     

Morphological diversity of panicle traits in Kam fragrant glutinous rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis>)

Panicle traits are the most intuitive and representative features of rice germplasm resources that have been utilized in the determination of its identity, genetic diversity, yield, and quality. Based on the approaches of ethnobotany, cultural anthropology and plant morphology, we analyzed the panicle traits of 95 traditional Kam fragrant glutinous rice landraces according to folk classification in Qiandongnan Prefecture of Guizhou Province in the past 10 years. A total of 95 Kam fragrant glutinous rice landraces were tested, of which 91% consisted of those with awns, and landraces with awn lengths of 2–6 cm comprised 62%. The coefficient of variation (CV) of awn color, husk color and Grain color was more than 50%, thereby indicating extensive morphological variations among the traditional Kam fragrant glutinous rice landraces. The average Shannon–Wiener value (diversity index, H′) for panicle qualitative traits was 0.50, which was significantly higher than that of quantitative traits (0.22), thereby indicating a relatively higher degree of genetic diversity among qualitative traits. Cluster analysis of panicle morphological traits showed that 95 Kam fragrant glutinous rice landraces could be divided into five categories, using the Euclidean distance of 0.68 as threshold. Each cultivar manifested unique panicle traits. The present study on the morphological diversity of Kam fragrant glutinous rice landraces provided basic information that may be utilized for the conservation and sustainable use of Kam fragrant glutinous rice landraces.     

Morphological spike diversity of Omani wheat

Little is known about the diversity of field crops in Oman. The objective of this study therefore was to characterize wheat accessions from this country using individual spikes collected from different wheat cultivation areas. The phenotypic assessment of 15 qualitative and 17 quantitative characters showed variations among Omani wheat landraces. The standardized phenotypic diversity index (H′) was with 0.66 higher for quantitative characters than for qualitative characters (0.52) in tetraploid wheats and with 0.63 and 0.62, respectively, in hexaploid wheats. Overall, the morphological data revealed a surprisingly high diversity among landraces and showed that simple morphological characters can be used for an effective characterization of diversity in Omani wheat.     

Morphological Diversity of Bambara Groundnut [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] Landraces in Tanzania

A field experiment was conducted in Tanzania for two seasons to assess the genetic diversity of bambara groundnut landraces based on morphological characters. One hundred accessions collected from a wide range of agricultural zones in the country were evaluated in a 10 × 10 triple lattice block design at Maruku station in Bukoba, Tanzania. For the qualitative characters evaluated, considerable morphological variations were observed for growth habit, pod shape and pod colour. Quantitative morphological characters such as peduncle length, number of leaves per plant, terminal leaflet width, terminal leaflet length, petiole length, plant spread, plant length, pod width, seed length, seed width, number of pods per plant, shelling percentage and days to 50% flowering showed significant variation among accessions for the two test seasons. Multivariate analysis for 15 quantitative morphological traits that showed significant variation indicated that the first four PCs with eigenvalues ≥1 accounted for 63.0 and 65.0% of the total variance among the accessions during the two test seasons, respectively. The most important loadings for PC1 and PC2 for the two seasons were terminal leaflet width, terminal leaflet length, petiole length, plant spread, plant height and pod length, pod width, seed length, seed width, numbers of pods per plant. Cluster analysis grouped bambara groundnut accessions into three major groups with respect to their geographic origins. Based on this present study, bambara groundnut landraces from Tanzania displayed a considerable diversity for morphological and agronomic traits useful for germplasm management and utilization into crop improvement.     

Genetic diversity of landraces of wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum aestivum</Emphasis> L.) from hilly areas of Uttaranchal,India

Seed samples of 27 landraces of wheat were collected from farmers’ fields of hilly areas of Himalaya in Uttaranchal state of India during April 2004. Genetic diversity among 41 genotypes (cultivars and landraces of wheat) was studied using morphological traits, microsatellite markers and SDS-PAGE of HMW-GS. The dendrogram and PCA (Principal Component Analysis) based on morphological data clearly separated landraces of wheat from cultivars. In the dendrogram based on microsatellite markers data all the wheat cultivars released after the introduction of high yielding dwarf wheat varieties from CIMMYT, used in this study, were grouped separately with the exception of NP4. The pre-green revolution indigenous varieties grouped with landraces suggesting that the same had been probably developed through selection among landraces in India. The landraces had higher diversity for HMW-glutenin subunits coded by Glu-B1, with distinct subunit combinations 6 + 8, 7 + 9, 13 + 16, than within the wheat cultivars analyzed. Most of the landraces except IITR10 and IITR14 are clearly distinct from the indigenous and modern wheat cultivars released in India in the 20th century. More than half of the landraces were heterogeneous mixture of plants with different glume color, awnness, grain color and HMW-GS profile and hence need purification through single plant selection. Some of the landraces with resistance to yellow rust and powdery mildew and distinct HMW-GS subunits can be used in appropriate breeding programs. It will be desirable to conserve and protect the landraces as geographical indications of Uttaranchal.     

Diversity,conservation and related wild species of Fonio millet (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Digitaria</Emphasis> spp.) in the northwest of Benin

Fonio (Digitaria exilis (Kipp.) Stapf, white fonio; Digitaria iburua Stapf, black fonio), is one of the oldest native, but neglected, cereal crops of cultural, nutritional and economic importance of West Africa. To gather key information that will help to preserve its diversity in Benin and develop modern and well-adapted varieties that could meet both farmers’ and consumers’ needs, a participatory research appraisal survey was conducted in 15 villages randomly selected in the fonio production zone of Benin. Altogether 15 farmer-named landraces were recorded and further grouped into five morphotypes of which four belong to D. exilis and one to D. iburua. The number of landraces inventoried varied from one to five per village (three on average) and from one to three per household. Their distribution and extent are presented and their importance in terms of genetic resources conservation is discussed. Farmers’ preferences for fonio varieties were assessed and eight preference criteria (earliness, culinary characteristics, ease of processing, productivity, facility of harvesting, grains size, storability, and drought tolerance) were identified and prioritised according to the gender. The traditional seed supply system and on-farm seed maintenance were investigated. Two plant species (Digitaria horizontalis Willd. and Digitaria longiflora (Retz.) Pers.) were reported by farmers as putative parents of cultivated fonio. Of these, only Digitaria longiflora has interesting agronomic traits (erect habit; stem long, big, strong and resistant to lodging; panicle long and rich in grains; large sized seeds) that are useful for the improvement of cultivated fonio. In the entire study area, the crop is under threat. Therefore, concerted efforts should be deployed to preserve its diversity and increase its use to combat food insecurity and malnutrition in Benin.     

Morphological and molecular diversity within Algerian cowpea (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Vigna unguiculata</Emphasis> (L.) Walp.) landraces

Twenty landraces of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) scattered throughout Algeria were compared through morphological and genetic characterization. At the morphological level, for qualitative characters there was no intra-landrace variation and for quantitative characters the variations were low except for landrace NAG2 Three different cultigroups were located in Algeria: Biflora that was dominant in the Sahara, Melanophtalmus in the North and Unguiculata including one landrace in Kabylia and two in Sahara. The AMOVA analysis indicated that the genetic variation was lower within than among agro-ecological regions. A Mantel test, revealed a correlation between the qualitative morphological data and the geographical data (R = 0.28; P < 0.01), indicating that the degree of morphological change among landraces was roughly proportional to the geographical distances separating them. Genetic diversity was analyzed by using 11 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and 12 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. No intra-landrace variability was found. The eleven RAPD primers yielded 77 bands, of which 45 (58.44%) were polymorphic; the genetic similarity ranged from 66.0 to 96.7%. The twelve ISSR primers provided a total of 104 bands, of which 65 (62.5%) were polymorphic; the genetic similarity ranged from 62.8 to 97.8%. cluster analysis showed a good match between genetic background and geographical distribution, which was confirmed by the results of the Mantel test. In particular, geographical data and genetic data were found to be correlated: (R = 0.33; P < 0.01) for RAPD, (R = 0.37; P < 0.01) for ISSR, and (R = 0.33; P < 0.01) for a combined RAPD-ISSR dataset. Moreover, despite the absence of significant correlation between morphological and RAPD data (R = 0.14; P = 0.14), significant correlations between morphological data and both ISSR (R = 0.27, P < 0.05) and a combined RAPD-ISSR dataset (R = 0.22, P < 0.05) were noted. ISSR markers were better linked to morphological variation than were RAPD markers. However, despite this, genetic distances among these landraces were found to be essentially the same no matter which markers were used.     

Genetic diversity and relationship of Guinea yam (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dioscorea cayenensis</Emphasis> Lam.–<Emphasis Type="Italic">D. rotundata</Emphasis> Poir. complex) germplasm in Benin (West Africa) using microsatellite markers

Guinea yam (Dioscorea cayenensis–D. rotundata complex) is an important tuber crop that highly contributes to food security and poverty alleviation in Benin. The knowledge and understanding of the extent of genetic variation of Guinea yam germplasm is important for planning of the genetic conservation, and the utilisation of this resource. The objective of this study was to assess the genetic diversity and relationships of 64 yam landraces whose dried chips are considered as resistant to insect attacks using 41 simple sequence repeat. Among these primers, 13 were found to be polymorphic, giving 113 polymorphic alleles. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 (Ym50) to 13 (Ym29), with an average of 8.69. Unique allele was observed with some landraces (Singou and Tchakatchaka) and can be considered as unique gene and use in yam breeding program. The mean polymorphic information content values for all markers used was 0.76 and ranged between 0.58 and 0.91 in loci YM3 and YM32 respectively. The genetic distance of yam landraces ranged from 0.45 (Yasoubagarou) to 0.04 (Assinapeira and Alahina), indicating that the yam germplasm has a high degree of genetic diversity supported by an averagely observed heterozygosity of 0.78. Cluster analysis using unweighted pair group method with arithmetic average grouped the 64 yam landraces into two distinct clusters. This tendency was also observed in the principal coordinate analysis. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that 96 % of the variation was found within the population and only 4 % between the populations. Genetic diversity and relationship assessments among the 64 yam landraces of Benin could provide useful information for efficient use of these materials, especially for genetic improvement.     

Agro-morphological diversity of Spanish traditional melons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis melo</Emphasis> L.) of the Madrid provenance

The variability of 14 landraces belonging to a Madrilean village historically specialized on melon cultivation, Villaconejos, was evaluated based on 58 quantitative and qualitative morphological traits. These landraces were compared to a reference array composed of 14 accessions which represented the main varieties cultivated in Spanish fields. Individual data related to plant, fruit, seed and phenology have been analysed using a multivariate analysis. This analysis showed intra- and inter-varietal diversity, as emphasized the most discriminant morphological traits in order to define similarities. Villaconejos accessions were morphologically distinct from the reference accessions (RA). Only the landraces belonging to Piel de Sapo market class showed common morphological affinities with the RA, grouping with them. The majority of Villaconejos traditional varieties clustered in five different groups, with no RA within, showing distinctive morphological singularities not described previously. Two of these groups showed some particularities in fruit traits, which are appreciated as quality marks for Spanish consumers. These results indicate that these accessions must be conserved as valuable genetic resources to enrich the Inodorus genetic bases for future breeding proposes worldwide. Furthermore, it should be considered the opportunity of promoting their cultivation under the shelter of a Protected Geographical Indication as a high quality melon. Finally, the discovering of such a high variability presented in a very small area, gives a clue for focusing, with an elevated probability of success, future surveys in similar ancestral European villages which in the past times, also supplied more populated cities with their farming products.     

Diversity of Nordic Landrace Potatoes (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis> L.) Revealed by AFLPs and Morphological Characters

The management of genebank collections of cultivated potato is costly due to the need for in vitro maintenance and virus eradication. Therefore, it is important to set up conservation strategies, which prevent duplicates entering the collections. In this study, 32 Nordic potato landraces were studied for 57 morphological traits and analysed for amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Most landraces could be distinguished based on the morphological characters, except five accessions. Using five primer combinations to generate 114 reproducible AFLPs, of which 63 (55%) were polymorphic, the five morphologically indistinguishable accessions were placed into two groups with identical AFLP patterns, suggesting that some of the accessions were redundant for long-term preservation. The AFLP data showed that the Nordic collection of potato landraces is composed of genetically different clones, and morphological analysis revealed a wide range of variability. This variability seems to be distributed randomly over the Nordic region since the cluster analysis based on AFLPs and morphological traits revealed no grouping based on the country of origin. Principal component analysis suggests that fewer morphological traits than used in this study will be sufficient to discriminate between different genotypes of cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Future possibilities for rationalising potato collections are discussed.     

Phenotypic diversity of durum wheat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum durum</Emphasis> Desf.) from Jordan

Durum wheat landrace genotypes are disappearing from the main wheat areas in Jordan, because of spreading of new uniform cultivars and the serious reduction in wheat cultivation. This study was conducted to evaluate genetic diversity in durum wheat landraces from Jordan and to identify desirable agronomic traits. Landraces were collected from two target areas: Ajloun and Karak. The collected material was grown under rainfed conditions using an augmented design with five blocks and four repeated check cultivars. Data were collected for 14 morphological and agronomic traits. Phenotypic diversity index (H′) was estimated, and the relationships among accessions were measured using cluster analysis and dendrogram similarity matrix. The results revealed the presence of a wide range of variability among landraces., which possess high levels of variability for biological yield, fertile tillers, number of seeds per spike, seed weight per spike and weight of 1000 seeds. These landraces must be considered as a reservoir of genes that plant breeders need in their wheat improvement programs and should be conserved both ex situ and in situ.     

Diversity in White Lupin (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lupinus albus</Emphasis> L.) Landraces from Northwest Iberianplateau

All the accessions (35) of white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) landraces collected from northwest Iberian plateau and maintained at the Spanish germplasm collection (CRF of INIA), were studied with the general objective of assessing the biodiversity of these landraces and to ascertain their value as genetic resources for the development of germplasm adapted to the areas where they were collected with long and chilly winters. The characterization study comprised 51 qualitative and 50 quantitative characters. Quantitative parameters were analyzed by Principal Components Analysis (PCA). The 2-dimensional plot (49.3% of cumulative variability) formed a main group of accessions and 4 outliers (#1, #9, #27 and #28) separated in the first PC. The characters with a higher contribution to the first PC were inflorescence length, leaf petiole length and leaf central foliole area. The presence of alkaloids, the percentage of plants killed by soil borne fungal diseases, the phenology, the yield per plant and yield components were also assessed. Twenty six accessions (the main group in the PCA plot) showed high homogeneity, with the following highlights: bitterness, indeterminate growth habit, early ripeness and spring sowing with the exception of #18, in which seeding date is unknown and it had a later phenology. By contrast accessions #9 and #27 were bitter of autumn sowing with determinate growing habit and they had the longest values of primary inflorescence length and a later phenology when they were sown in spring. Average values for yield and yield components showed a broad range of variation between accessions. The main yield component was the number of pods per plant. Accession #22 had the highest mean seed mass, although this had not significant influence in yield. Accession #17 showed the highest yield and #1 the lowest. This last also had the lowest values of inflorescence length, leaf petiole length and leaf central foliole area. No significant differences of resistance to soil-borne fungi were found between accessions. The year had a significant effect in the phenology, yield and yield components except for number of seeds per pod. The studied material might be of interest for the development of spring sowing germplasm adapted to north Iberian peninsula.