Genetic Diversity among Accessions of Indian Spinach (Basella spp. L.) Based on Agro-Morphological Traits

Medicinal and nutritional qualities of Indian spinach obviously make it a promising crop for food security in Africa. It exhibits high genetic diversity in its present under-exploited state; therefore, accurate assessment of the existing genetic diversity will be fundamental to its improvement. This study investigated the genetic diversity among twenty (20) accessions of Indian spinach using morphological descriptors. The field experiments were carried out at the Vegetable Research Farm of National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria during rainy seasons of 2016 and 2017. The experimental design adopted was randomized complete block design with three replicates. Data were collected on the vegetative characters, yield and on yield related characters. The data were subjected to Analysis of Variance, Principal Component Analysis and Cluster analyses. The first three principal component (PC) axes observed for year 2016 and 2017 explained 64.66% and 59.99% respectively of the total variation. The clustering method evolved groups of accessions based on similarities of morphological traits. Yield and yield related characters were highly and positively correlated with one another. Stem weight was positively correlated with leaf weight and total plant weight. Likewise, positive correlation existed between leaf weight and total plant weight.