Diversity in fruit and seed morphology of wooden banana (Entandrophragma bussei Harms ex Engl.) populations in Tanzania
2021
Andrew, Samora M. | Kombo, Siwa A. | Chamshama, Shabani A.O.
Entandrophragma bussei (wooden banana) is a high value indigenous multipurpose tree species prioritized for domestication in Tanzania. However, we lack adequate information on genetic and phenotypic variation to support domestication processes, while utilization pressure on the remaining stocks and deforestation are intensified. The study evaluated the diversity in fruit and seed morphology of three wild populations of E. bussei found in three agroecological zones of Tanzania. Data on fruit (length, width, weight and number of seeds per fruit) and seed (length, width and weight) traits were evaluated. To detect differences in means among the populations, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed. There were variations in fruit and seed morphological traits among the studied populations. Ruaha population had significantly higher fruit length (19.31 ± 0.1 cm), width (7.71 ± 0.12 cm) and number of seeds per fruit (22 ± 0.48) than Kigwe (15.65 ± 0.14 cm, 4.85 ± 0.17 cm, 20 ± 0.45), and Tarangire (16.84 ± 0.1 cm, 5.40 ± 0.12 cm, 20 ± 0.37) populations. Ruaha (62.46 ± 1.37 g) and Tarangire (60.71 ± 1.12 g) had significantly heavier fruits than Kigwe (56.53 ± 1.28 g). Kigwe population had significantly higher seed width (1.80 ± 0.01 cm) and weight (0.83 ± 0.01 g) than Ruaha (1.75 ± 0.01 cm, 0.75 ± 0.01 g) and Tarangire (1.65 ± 0.01 cm, 0.77 ± 0.01 g) populations. Among the populations Tarangire had higher seed length (9.60 ± 0.06 cm) than the rest. Overall, there is a considerable fruit and seed morphological diversity among the E. bussei populations offering opportunities for selection of domestication cultivars and gene pool conservation.
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