Multi-Trait Selection Index for Superior Agronomic and Tuber Quality Traits in Bush Yam (<i>Dioscorea praehensilis</i> Benth.)
2023
Adeyinka S. Adewumi | Paul A. Asare | Idris I. Adejumobi | Michael O. Adu | Kingsley J. Taah | Samuel Adewale | Jean M. Mondo | Paterne A. Agre
<i>Dioscorea praehensilis</i> Benth. is a semi-wild yam species and a valuable source of resistance trait genes. To access the agronomic and tuber quality performance, eleven quantitative phenotypic traits were used to discriminate and identify promising accessions among 162 accessions of <i>D. praehensilis</i> collected in Ghana. Significant and high genetic variability (<i>p</i> < 0.001) for all eleven quantitative traits was found among the evaluated accessions. Moderate broad-sense heritability (H<sup>2</sup>) (30–60%) was observed for all the evaluated quantitative traits except the response to YMV and tuber hardness. The accessions were clustered into three groups; each cluster displayed genotypes with good potentiality for the different traits evaluated. Path coefficient analysis revealed positive contributions (<i>p</i> < 0.01) of the number of tubers per plant, tuber length, tuber width, stem internode length, number of internodes, and tuber flesh hardness to the total tuber weight per plant. Through the multi-trait genotype–ideotype distance index (MGIDI), 24 accessions were identified from the 162 evaluated accessions as top-ranking and could be used as progenitors for trait introgression. The results of this study provide insight for future yam breeding and improvement programs in West Africa.
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