Phenotypic analysis of Coffea arabica accessions from Ethiopia: Contribution to the undestanding of Coffea arabica diversity

Abstract

As a consequence of Coffea arabica domestication process, the genetic diversity of cultivated genotypes of this species is extremely restricted. According to this observation, FAO organized, in 1964-1965, surveys of spontaneous and subspontaneous genotypes in the main center of origin (Ethiopia). Various studies were performed regarding the phenotypic variability of these accessions. However a clear understanding of the structure of the phenotypic diversity in Ethiopia remains to be reached. We present here the phenotypic analysis of 130 Ethiopians accessions with 37 phenotypic traits. Two main goals were pursued: to evaluate the interest of Ethiopian accessions for Coffea arabica breeding, and to test relationships between phenotypic variability and geographic origins. (Résumé d'auteur