TITLE:
Morphological Diversity of Corn’s (Zea mays L.) Local Cultivar and Improved Varieties in Central and North of Benin
AUTHORS:
Hafiz A. Salami, Adolphe Adjanohoun, Wilfrid Padonou, Abdoul-Madjidou Yacoubou, Djima Aly, Chabi Yallou, Haziz Sina, Lamine Baba-Moussa
KEYWORDS:
Accessions, Characterization, Agro-Morphological, Zea mays L., Benin
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.6 No.18,
November
18,
2015
ABSTRACT: The better knowledge of a plant genetic biodiversity is based on a prior study of its agro-morphological
characteristics. The objective of this study was to investigate the morphological diversity of
maize accessions and its structure on the basis of 14 variables. For the experimentation, 43 and 98
maize accessions were planted in three replicates respectively in central and northern Benin following
an incomplete randomized block. The mixed model analysis of two factors variance revealed
a significant difference for all accessions considering each agro-morphological characteristic
evaluated except the germination day of two areas seed accessions. The numerical classification
grouped the accessions into four groups in each zone. The stepwise discriminant analysis
showed that early characters related to plant height and ear insertion were the variables that discriminated
accessions in both zones. Maturity and recovery ears, sensitivity to streak and the
germination days are the variables that discriminate accessions of the two areas. These results
provide a database for the creation of improved maize varieties that meet the needs of producers