Characterization of Morphological Diversity of Jute Mallow (Corchorus spp.)

Jute mallow is a traditional leaf vegetable that is an important part of daily diet for the majority of people in rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Here we employed quantitative and qualitative phenotypic traits to assess the morphological diversity of 90 accessions using univariate and multivariate analyses. Field experiments were conducted for two seasons to identify accessions suitable for leaf yield. The accessions were significantly variable in all traits. Highest variability among accessions was found in harvest index, biomass yield, and weight of 1000 seeds. The traits that significantly correlated with biomass yield include plant height (r=0.448), petiole length (r=0.237), primary branches (r=0.319), and number of leaves per plant (r=0.333). Principal component analysis showed that the first five PCs with eigenvalues ≥1 explained 72.9% of the total variability in the accessions. Pods per plant, primary branches, secondary branches, and number of leaves per plant accounted for highest variability in PC1. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into five major clusters mainly based on their origin. Thus, the collection displayed high variation in morphological traits, particularly those related to leaf yield. These accessions are therefore useful in breeding for the improvement of the crop and germplasm management

The genetic diversity of leaf vegetable jute mallow (Corchorus spp.): A review

This research article was published in the Indian Journal of Agricultural Research, volume 51 issue 5, 2017Corchorus spp. is among traditional vegetable which is very nutritious and has been in use in many households in Africa. It contains high level of carotenoids (150μg/100g), vitamin C, Iron (190μg/g), 1.3% Calcium and 25.0% protein. The leaves are used in treatment of diseases and have wide antibacterial properties. It is semidomesticated and sometimes grows as a volunteer crop. Its status in some parts of Tanzania as a wild plant renders it unappealing for consideration in crop development programs.There is limited scientific information on its diversity for use as a vegetable in crop improvement and is a potential area for research. Variations exist among different accessions based on leaf shapes and color. Diversity studies by using molecular markers, proteins and isozymes are reported by several authors. There is low variation within species and high among species. Most of released varieties have a narrow genetic base. Conservation of this species in Africa is scarcely reported

Accelerated variety turnover for open-pollinated crops in Tanzania - Phase 1 Key Findings

Open-pollinated varieties (OPVs), such as beans, sorghum, and groundnuts, are important for increased income, job creation, food security, and nutrition of both urban and rural households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the main constraint is underdeveloped seed systems, which contribute substantially to dwindling productivity among small-scale farmers due to limited access to reliable and quality planting materials. ACCELERATE is expected to accelerate varietal adoption and turnover in Tanzania by tapping into the power of large/small-scale or marketplace traders, and institutional seed buyers

Genetic characterization of jute mallow (corchorus spp.): a traditional African vegetable

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Life Science of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyJute mallow (Corchorus spp.) is a very nutritious traditional leafy vegetable. Its leaves contain an average of 15% dry matter,4.8 g of protein, 259 mg of calcium, 4.5 mg of iron, 4.7 mg of vitamin A, 92 μg of folate, 1.5 mg of nicotinamide and 105 mg of ascorbic acid per 100g of leaves. In spite of its nutritional importance, cultivation of Jute mallow is limited due to lack of scientific information with regard to available cultivars and their adaptation to specific environments. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity and evaluate the accessions which are well adapted to specific environment for leaf and seeds production. Ninety accessions were evaluated in the field trial experiments for two growing seasons. ISSR and SSR markers were employed for molecular characterization as well as leaf and seed yield evaluation. The results showed significant (p<0.01) variability in accessions in all morphological traits. Traits such as plant height (r=0.448), petiole length (r=0.237), primary branches (r=0.319) and number of leaves per plant (r=0.333) were significantly (p<0.01) correlated with biomass yield. First five Principal components (PCs) with Eigen values ≥1 explained 72.9% of the total variability in the accessions. Cluster analysis grouped the accessions into five major clusters mainly based on their origin. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 2-4 with an average of 2.63 alleles per locus. Polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.278 in primer SSR17 to 0.78 in primer SSR24. Average Nei‘s gene diversity (h) and Shannon‘s information index (I) were 0.348 and 0.557, respectively. In ISSR markers a total of 85 bands were amplified and average polymorphic bands per primer was 2.75. PIC values ranged from 0.39 to 0.76 with average of 0.53. The highest Nei‘s pair wise genetic distance (0.431) was observed in East African accessions. UPGMA cluster analysis grouped the accessions into five main clusters at genetic similarity coefficient of 0.53. In terms of leaf and seed yield, significant (p<0.01) differences among the accessions in all traits was observed. Leaf fresh weight ranged from 18.3g/plant to 121.3g/plant in accessions TOT 6747 and TOT 8532, respectively. Seed yield ranged from 1.0g/plant to 35.5g/plant in accessions TOT 7980 including eight others and TOT 7866, respectively. Evaluation of genetic diversity and the agronomic traits for leaf and seed yield in this germplasm has revealed useful information for breeders in their efforts to improve the yield as well as selection of accessions with good agronomic traits. It is recommended that detailed study to document ethnomenclacture, ethnobotanical uses, progress towards domestication and challenges faced by farmers be conducted

Leaf and seed yield of jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) accessions under field conditions for two consecutive growing seasons

Research Article published by Taylor & Francis GroupJute mallow is a nutritious leafy vegetable used by many people in Africa. The purpose of this study was to select accessions with high leaf yield and seed yield. We investigated seven agronomic traits that are related to leaf yield and seed yield and how they correlate with each other. The results indicated significant differences among the accessions in all traits. Leaf fresh weight ranged from 18.3 to 121.3 g/plant in accessions TOT 6747 and TOT 8532, respectively. The highest variability between the accessions was also observed in seed yield. It ranged from 1.0 g/plant in accession TOT 7980 to 35.5 g/plant in TOT 7866. Eight other accessions had a seed yield of 1.0 g/plant. Significant and positive correlations were observed between leaf fresh weight and leaf dry weight (r = 0.84), leaf area (r = 0.33), and number of leaves (r = 0.40). A significant correlation was observed in seed yield and weight of pods per plant (r = 0.83). The evaluation of these agronomic traits for leaf and seed yield in this germplasm has revealed useful information for breeders in their efforts to improve the yield as well as selection of accessions with good agronomic traits