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Morphological Descriptors and Heritability as Markers for Oil Yield in Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del.: A Potential Biodiesel Xerophyte

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Abstract

Balanites aegyptiaca has been identified as a source of seed oil for biodiesel feedstock. Diversity in its population based on morphological descriptors and seed oil yield has been studied in order to evaluate the variation, association of morphological descriptors with oil yield and inheritance of the traits to facilitate the plans for genetic improvement and its conservation. From seven agro-climatic regions, 56 accessions of B. aegyptiaca were studied to evaluate variability based on morphological descriptors, viz. height, girth, leaf, fruit, pericarp, mesocarp, nut and kernel. The data were subjected to ANOVA, simple measures of variation and D2 statistics. Genetic variability among morphological descriptors was recorded. High heritability (> 0.8) and genetic advance (~ 360%) make kernel weight a suitable marker for genetic improvement of B. aegyptiaca for oil yield. Cluster analysis revealed that cluster V (Jaipur, Sikar, Jodhpur, Dungarpur, Alwar and Kota regions) had high oil. Cluster II with the highest intracluster distance (10,239) was found to be the most suitable for genetic improvement. The population of B. aegyptiaca in Udaipur, Jaipur, Sikar, Jodhpur, Alwar and Dungarpur may be protected for in situ conservation. The study helps in designing strategy to get enhanced oil from B. aegyptiaca and its conservation.

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Acknowledgements

The corresponding author is grateful to Science and Engineering Research Board, New Delhi, for the financial assistance under the Young Scientist Scheme (File no: YSS/2014/000998). The authors are thankful to Dr. Paras Sharma, Dr. Kumar Sambhav Verma, Dr. Chandan Singh Rajpurohit, Dr. S.S. Meena, Mr. Shri Kant Wankhede, Mr. Sadul Ram and Mr. Pankaj Singh Chouhan for their valuable help extended during the survey and sample collection process. We acknowledge the help of Dr. Manoj Kumar, Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur, for language improvement of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur, India

    Mahesh Kumar Saini, S. L. Kothari & Vinod Singh Gour

  2. Amity School of Applied Science, Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur, India

    Jagdish Prasad

  3. Centre for Ocean-Atmospheric Science and Technology (COAST), Amity University Rajasthan, Jaipur, India

    P. V. S. Raju

  4. Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

    Harish

  5. Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development, 6th, Mile, (Near ML-05 Café), Upper Shilong, Meghalaya, 793009, India

    Jitendra Kumar Shukla

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  1. Mahesh Kumar Saini
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  2. Jagdish Prasad
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  3. P. V. S. Raju
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  4. S. L. Kothari
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  7. Vinod Singh Gour
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Correspondence to Vinod Singh Gour.

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Significance Statement In Balanites aegyptiaca, genotypes with high oil yield can be identified based on leaf length and kernel weight out of 11 characters studied. Populations with high oil yield and genetic diversity have been identified in Rajasthan which can be used for genetic improvement and conservation of this native plant of desert.

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Saini, M.K., Prasad, J., Raju, P.V.S. et al. Morphological Descriptors and Heritability as Markers for Oil Yield in Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del.: A Potential Biodiesel Xerophyte. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 91, 695–706 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-021-01270-x

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