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Phenotypic characterization of taro [Colocasia esculenta (l.) Schott.] accessions for yield and nutrient composition in Ghana

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Abstract

Phenotypic characterization is a pre-requisite activity for any breeding program as it reveals the available diversity in the existing germplasm for parental selection. The objective of the study was to evaluate and characterize local and introduced germplasm of taro [Colocasia esculenta (l.) Schott.] for yield and nutritional quality in Ghana. Thirty-four (34) taro accessions were cultivated at research field of Crop Research Institute—Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CRI-CSRI), Fumesua in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications was used for the research. Data on leaf length and width (cm), number of inflorescence/plant, number of leaves, number of stolons, number of suckers, plant height (cm), plant span (cm), corm length, corm weight (cm), yield(kg/ha) and percentage dry matter were measured. The corms were also analyzed for their nutritional composition according to AOAC (1990). Data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance, Shannon–Weaver diversity test, correlation test and multivariate analysis. Significant variation (p < 0.05) was observed for the yield and yield related traits and the nutritional traits. The principal component analysis revealed corm weight (g) and yield (kg/ha) for yield traits and iron and zinc for the nutrient composition as the most important traits. The cluster analysis grouped the accessions into three clusters based on both the yield and nutritional traits. There were both significant positive and negative correlation between the yield and yield traits and also the nutritional traits. Accessions BL/SM/10, BL/SM/151, CE/MAL/32, KA 019 and CE/IND/16 were identified as potential parental lines for yield and nutritional improvement of taro in Ghana.

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Acknowledgements

Provision of the introduced accessions of taro for use in this study by the Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of Ghana is highly acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture and Crop Production, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana

    Esther Fobi Donkor

  2. Plant Breeding Section, Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, Tafo, Ghana

    Daniel Nyadanu

  3. Crop and Soil Sciences Department, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

    Richard Akromah

  4. Pathology Department, Crop Research Institute of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Fumesua, Ghana

    Kingsley Osei

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  1. Esther Fobi Donkor
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Donkor, E.F., Nyadanu, D., Akromah, R. et al. Phenotypic characterization of taro [Colocasia esculenta (l.) Schott.] accessions for yield and nutrient composition in Ghana. J. Crop Sci. Biotechnol. 26, 327–343 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12892-022-00182-0

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