Taro （Colocasia esculenta L. Schott） is an important underutilised crop in South Africa, East Africa and Indonesia. Three taro landraces, namely, Dumbe Lomfula （wild）, KwaNgwanase and Umbumbulu, were collected fro...Taro （Colocasia esculenta L. Schott） is an important underutilised crop in South Africa, East Africa and Indonesia. Three taro landraces, namely, Dumbe Lomfula （wild）, KwaNgwanase and Umbumbulu, were collected from two locations in KwaZulu-Natal （KZN）, South Africa, and planted at two locations, Pietermaritzburg （KZN） and Roodeplaat, Pretoria. Ago-morphological characterisation of vegetative and corm characteristics were done four months after planting and at harvest, respectively. Sampling for DNA fingerprinting using five SSR primers was done using leaf material four months after planting. Agro-morphological characterisation was useful in showing differences between the wild landrace and the two cultivated landraces, as well as identification of dasheen and eddoe types. SSR primer characterisation showed that despite significant morphological difference, the wild Dumbe Lomfula and Umbumbulu landraces were closely related but different from the KwaNgwanase landrace. Although landraces showed great morphological variation, this did not necessarily imply genetic variation. It is concluded that SSR primers are more useful for characterising taro landraces.展开更多
文摘Taro （Colocasia esculenta L. Schott） is an important underutilised crop in South Africa, East Africa and Indonesia. Three taro landraces, namely, Dumbe Lomfula （wild）, KwaNgwanase and Umbumbulu, were collected from two locations in KwaZulu-Natal （KZN）, South Africa, and planted at two locations, Pietermaritzburg （KZN） and Roodeplaat, Pretoria. Ago-morphological characterisation of vegetative and corm characteristics were done four months after planting and at harvest, respectively. Sampling for DNA fingerprinting using five SSR primers was done using leaf material four months after planting. Agro-morphological characterisation was useful in showing differences between the wild landrace and the two cultivated landraces, as well as identification of dasheen and eddoe types. SSR primer characterisation showed that despite significant morphological difference, the wild Dumbe Lomfula and Umbumbulu landraces were closely related but different from the KwaNgwanase landrace. Although landraces showed great morphological variation, this did not necessarily imply genetic variation. It is concluded that SSR primers are more useful for characterising taro landraces.
