Agronomic, Genetic and Quantitative Trait Characterization of Nightshade Accessions

Abstract

Nightshades are among many underutilized and neglected African indigenous leafy vegetable (AILVs) species, and if adequately exploited, they could improve food, nutrition and income among the rural population. Morphological characterization of available accessions is key for the breeder to identify and select superior accessions as parents for utilization in breeding programs. Fifteen accessions of nightshade were evaluated for morpho-agronomic variation in an open field trial implemented in a randomized complete block design with three replicates across the two growing seasons. The accessions exhibited significant (p 2-70.59%, GAM-142.4%), indicating the presence of additive gene effects. Hence, selection can be employed for the improvement of this trait in nightshades. The study revealed sufficient genetic variability in the nightshade accessions, which can be exploited for crop improvement.

Keywords

• correlation
• genetic advance
• heritability
• morphological
• solanum
• PCA: variability