Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia

Neglected by research and development, knowledge of the genetic diversity in Ethiopian yams is found mainly with the local farmers. The local yam classification system in Southern Ethiopia was studied through individual and key informant interviews. Data collected include attributes/traits of each l...

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Autores principales: Tamiru, M., Becker, H.C., Maass, Brigitte L.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/43278
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author Tamiru, M.
Becker, H.C.
Maass, Brigitte L.
author_browse Becker, H.C.
Maass, Brigitte L.
Tamiru, M.
author_facet Tamiru, M.
Becker, H.C.
Maass, Brigitte L.
author_sort Tamiru, M.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Neglected by research and development, knowledge of the genetic diversity in Ethiopian yams is found mainly with the local farmers. The local yam classification system in Southern Ethiopia was studied through individual and key informant interviews. Data collected include attributes/traits of each landrace used in the folk taxonomy. Local farmers recognize two major categories of yams: ‘hatuma boye’ (‘male’ yam) and ‘macha boye’ (‘female’ yam). This categorization has no reference to the reproductive biology of the plant. “Female” yams mature early and produce tubers of excellent quality, but are less vigorous in growth compared to ‘male’ yams and yield poorly under sub-optimal conditions. Whereas, ‘male’ yams mature late, grow vigorously and are tolerant to drought. Individual landraces are further identified based on variations in maturity time, morphological and/or growth attributes. Eighty-two yam accessions collected from Gedeo, Sidama, Wolayita and Gamo-Gofa zones were characterized using 42 qualitative morphological variables. Cluster and principal component analyses gave seven distinct groups, revealing that the overall structure of morphological diversity is consistent with farmers’ classification. Nevertheless, no clear morphological variations were observed between some differently named landraces. Few landraces known by the same vernacular name were also morphologically distinct. This study demonstrated the existence of a well-defined local classification system and a wide variability among the accessions studied. It also revealed the need for detailed phylogenetic studies to determine the species identity of the accessions studied and broaden the knowledge base of Ethiopian yams.
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spelling CGSpace432782023-02-15T05:10:44Z Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia Tamiru, M. Becker, H.C. Maass, Brigitte L. genetic resources dioscorea yams farmers varieties land varieties recursos genéticos numero de cabezas agricultores variedades variedades indígenas etiopia Neglected by research and development, knowledge of the genetic diversity in Ethiopian yams is found mainly with the local farmers. The local yam classification system in Southern Ethiopia was studied through individual and key informant interviews. Data collected include attributes/traits of each landrace used in the folk taxonomy. Local farmers recognize two major categories of yams: ‘hatuma boye’ (‘male’ yam) and ‘macha boye’ (‘female’ yam). This categorization has no reference to the reproductive biology of the plant. “Female” yams mature early and produce tubers of excellent quality, but are less vigorous in growth compared to ‘male’ yams and yield poorly under sub-optimal conditions. Whereas, ‘male’ yams mature late, grow vigorously and are tolerant to drought. Individual landraces are further identified based on variations in maturity time, morphological and/or growth attributes. Eighty-two yam accessions collected from Gedeo, Sidama, Wolayita and Gamo-Gofa zones were characterized using 42 qualitative morphological variables. Cluster and principal component analyses gave seven distinct groups, revealing that the overall structure of morphological diversity is consistent with farmers’ classification. Nevertheless, no clear morphological variations were observed between some differently named landraces. Few landraces known by the same vernacular name were also morphologically distinct. This study demonstrated the existence of a well-defined local classification system and a wide variability among the accessions studied. It also revealed the need for detailed phylogenetic studies to determine the species identity of the accessions studied and broaden the knowledge base of Ethiopian yams. 2011 2014-09-24T08:41:53Z 2014-09-24T08:41:53Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/43278 en Open Access
spellingShingle genetic resources
dioscorea
yams
farmers
varieties
land varieties
recursos genéticos
numero de cabezas
agricultores
variedades
variedades indígenas
etiopia
Tamiru, M.
Becker, H.C.
Maass, Brigitte L.
Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia
title Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia
title_full Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia
title_fullStr Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia
title_short Comparative analysis of morphological and farmers' cognitive diversity in yams landraces (Dioscorea spp.) from southern Ethiopia
title_sort comparative analysis of morphological and farmers cognitive diversity in yams landraces dioscorea spp from southern ethiopia
topic genetic resources
dioscorea
yams
farmers
varieties
land varieties
recursos genéticos
numero de cabezas
agricultores
variedades
variedades indígenas
etiopia
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/43278
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AT maassbrigittel comparativeanalysisofmorphologicalandfarmerscognitivediversityinyamslandracesdioscoreasppfromsouthernethiopia