Studies on the flowering ability and variability in tuber yield characteristics of trifoliate yam (Dioscorea dumetorum)
Abstract
Fifteen accessions of trifoliate yam were collected from farmers in Abia State, Akwa Ibom State and from the Genetic Resources Unit of the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike to study the flowering ability and variability in tuber yield characteristics of the trifoliate yam. The trial took place at the Institute's experimental field. The field was demarcated into 15 plots in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. Data collected were on above-ground breeding traits such as vigour, flower sex, time of flower initiation, flowering ability, and belowground traits such as number of large tubers, number of small tubers, percentage of large number of tubers and fresh tuber weight. Data collected were subjected to analyses of variance. Result indicated that accessions that combine both high number of large tubers and fresh tuber yield above their grand means will be adequate as good parents for developing high yielding progenies with large tuber sizes.
Keywords: Trifoliate yam, breeding traits, progenies, flowering ability and tuber yield
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