Title
Characterization of Tanzanian avocado using morphological traits
Date Issued
01 February 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Juma I.
Nyomora A.
Hovmalm H.P.
Fatih M.
Geleta M.
Carlsson A.S.
Ortiz R.O.
Publisher(s)
MDPI AG
Abstract
Two-hundred and twenty-six old avocado trees (Persea americana Mill) derived from seeds were selected from eight districts of the Mbeya, Njombe and Songwe regions in Tanzania. The tree, leaf, fruit and seed characteristics were studied using the descriptors for avocado (Persea spp.) from the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. Cross tabulation and Chi-square tests were conducted in order to assess the distribution of traits between districts and altitude ranges. Principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were used to assess variation of traits within and among districts. Various morphological features were observed among the samples which point to the existence of the Mexican, Guatemalan and West Indian avocado races in Tanzania. The biplot from PCoA revealed extensive variation between the sampled trees at the district level but no clear groupings of the samples based on geographic location. Likewise, dendrograms ensuing from the neighbor-joining and Wards methods displayed that the avocado samples from the same district and even region differed considerably. This morphological trait variation suggests high diversity that may help in planning germplasm management and conservation, as well as breeding strategies in the future.
Volume
12
Issue
2
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Conservación de la Biodiversidad
Agricultura
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85080874100
Source
Diversity
ISSN of the container
14242818
Sponsor(s)
This research was funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), grant number SIDA-Tz-UDSM-2015 and The APC was funded by the same agency, Sida. The authors thank Jan-Erik Englund and Adam Flöhr (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU) for assisting with statistical analyses.
Funding: This research was funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), grant number SIDA-Tz-UDSM-2015 and The APC was funded by the same agency, Sida.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus