ABSTRACT Information of the variation for important morphological and physiological traits of okra is still limited. Molecular analysis is an important additional tool in germplasm characterization studies. The study aimed to evaluate the performance of the growth and yield of 20 pre-commercial okra accessions to identify molecular markers’ association with morphological traits. Nineteen morphological traits were measured with five qualitative and 14 quantitative descriptors. For analysis of genetic patterns Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used with nine primers and 24 usable bands. The genetic dissimilarity was evaluated based in morphological and genetic matrices. Also, graphical representation of genetic distances was obtained by UPGMA and Tocher’s optimization method. The morphological characterization of the accessions detected polymorphism for all evaluated traits. RAPD markers were efficient in detecting genetic variability among okra accessions. For the primers used in the experiment, only OPE10 did not amplify the DNA strand. The other eight primers produced a total of 35 bands, in which 25 were polymorphic and ten were monomorphic. The morphological traits and molecular markers identified wide genetic variability among the 20 okra accessions, indicating successful crosses in breeding programs and isolating some interesting materials. Morphological and molecular cluster analyses were complementary and helped in the genotype selection. Molecular analysis indicated some divergent accessions that were not found in morphological analysis, which could highlight some materials that have a desirable trait, that is difficult and highly costly to access in field experiments.

ABSTRACT Plant breeding programs have been investing in the development of high commercial standard onions; thus, they depend on the genetic resources available for obtaining commercial hybrids. The objective of this study was to evaluate genetic parameters and diversity, and phenotypic and genotypic correlations of characters related to onion production. The experiment was conducted in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Fifty-three onion strains were evaluated, and a randomized block design was used. The number of plant and bulb characteristics evaluated was 13. The statistical analyses were performed using Genes and R software. A genetic variability among the genotypes was found for most of the characters at 1% level of significance in the F test. The heritability of most characters presented moderate to high values (≥ 70%) and high CVg/CVe ratio (≥ 1). The UPGMA method separated the genotypes into 20 groups, while the Tocher method separated them into 19 groups. The groups that stood out were V, XIV, XV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, and XX. The results of t-test showed six significant phenotypic correlations with low to moderate degree of association, and the genotypic correlations, in most cases, were higher than the phenotypic ones and showed the same sign. From the genetic parameters studied, the possibility of gains in the selection is high. The separation of groups of divergent genitors was possible due to the wide genetic variability for the studied characters. Moreover, the phenotypic and genotypic correlations showed that indirect selection is not feasible.

ABSTRACT The characterization of genetic divergence in common bean cultivars for various traits related to plant architecture and grain yield is unprecedented. This study proposes to determine whether common bean cultivars of different grain types differ for 12 traits of plant architecture and grain yield; examine the correlations between these traits; analyze the genetic divergence of these cultivars; and select superior cultivars for these traits. A total of 22 common bean cultivars with the grains types most produced in Brazil were evaluated in two growing seasons. Plant architecture was analyzed based on 12 traits, and grain yield was determined at maturity. Significant genotype and genotype × environment interaction effects were obtained, indicating the existence of genetic variability for all evaluated traits. Several plant architecture traits were correlated, but none was highly correlated with grain yield. Firstand second-internode lengths are more important in differentiating common bean cultivars. Principal component and Tocher’s analyses resulted in the formation of four and seven groups of cultivars, respectively. Both methods are efficient in analyzing genetic divergence; however, Tocher's method is more informative. Cultivars BRS Campeiro, SCS 205 - Riqueza, BRS Esteio, IAC Imperador and Guapo Brilhante have a high grain yield potential, but only BRS Campeiro, BRS Esteio and Guapo Brilhante have upright plant architecture.

ABSTRACT Developing fast-cooking, mineral-biofortified common bean lines represents an important innovation for breeding programs. Thus, this study was conducted to determine whether elite Mesoamerican common bean lines differ for cooking time and mineral concentration and to select fast-cooking, mineral- biofortified lines. The experiments were carried out in two growing seasons, in which 16 common bean genotypes were evaluated. Cooking time was determined using a Mattson cooker, and the minerals were analyzed by acid digestion. The resulting data were subjected to individual analysis of variance, combined analysis of variance, clustering by the Scott-Knott test, and selection index (multiplicative). There was a significant genotype × environment interaction effect for cooking time and the concentrations of potassium, iron, zinc and copper. Only the phosphorus concentration showed no genetic variability between the common bean lines. The ranking of the best common bean lines differed for all traits examined in the different environments, according to the Scott-Knott test. The use of the multiplicative selection index allows selecting superior common bean lines for all traits, namely, DF 07-11, DF 08-21, DF 08-20 and DF 08-28. These lines exhibit a very short cooking time (up to 15 min), high potassium concentration (> 12.00 g kg-1 of dry matter) and the highest mean values of micromineral concentration, and will thus be selected by the breeding program.