Diversity assessment of cassava mutants, hybrids and landraces using morphological markers

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a very important crop in terms of adaptability to various micro-environments, flexibility in management, returns, and multiple uses as food and in various industries. Knowledge of levels of genetic variation is required if farmers continue to use cassava cultivars to form part of the conservation strategy. The current study was to determine variability of cassava mutants, hybrids and landraces using morphological markers. Ten cassava genotypes which comprised of 4 mutants, KME1 (parent of the mutant), hybrid (KMA1) and the two parent of hybrid (HM95/0183 × 990072) selections were evaluated for various morphological characters in the year 2010/2011. The sites were Chepsigot, Sigor and Marigat and the design used was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3 replications in each site. The results from the dendrogram based on Underweighted PairGroup Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA) cluster analysis revealed that morphological data indicated the existence of some level of divergence among the genotypes. The cophenetic matrices obtained with morphological data marker type were 0.87. At certain stages, the morphological traits used were able to distinguish between cultivars. This implies that the genotypes constitute a pool of germplasm with adequate genetic variability and selection of desirable characters among the genotypes will lead to significant progress in cassava improvement programmes.