Morphological and Ecogeographic Study of the Diversity of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Ecuador

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a crop of nutritional and economic importance worldwide, cultivated in more than 100 tropical and subtropical countries including Ecuador, where it is traditionally cultivated in the three continental regions: Amazonia, the Coast and in the valleys of the Sierra. The purpose of this study is to characterize 195 accessions from INIAP’s Ecuadorian cassava collection through (1) morphological characterization with qualitative and quantitative descriptors; and (2) ecogeographic characterization to know the climatic, geophysical, and edaphic conditions in which cassava grows and which environments are frequent or marginal for its cultivation. For the morphological characterization, 27 morphological descriptors were used (18 qualitative and nine quantitative), and for the ecogeographic characterization, 55 variables (41 climatic, two geophysical and 12 edaphic). Four morphological groups and three ecogeographic groups were identified. Morphological variability was evidenced mainly in descriptors related to the leaves, stems, and inflorescences. In addition, it was possible to identify accessions that appear capable of growing under extreme conditions of drought and poor soils. These accessions could be used for improvement.

Polymer blends of poly(lactic acid) and starch for the production of films applied in food packaging: A brief review

“…It is possible to harvest a good crop of cassava even with erratic rainfall and infertile soils, which is why it is also portrayed as a "traditional crop for food security". [349][350][351][352] The leaves (∼6%) and roots (∼50%) in the mature plant are the nutrient-rich parts. 353 Africa, Asia and South America are the largest producers of cassava in the world, 354 but its use occurs in different ways.…”

Genetic Diversity of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Ecuador by Using SSR Markers

“…The cassava collection evaluated in this study is a subset of the landraces collected along with continental Ecuador, as explained in Monteros-Altamirano et al [39]. This collection encompasses 136 accessions collected in the Coast, Andes and Amazonia regions of Ecuador.…”

Morphological Characteristics and Similarity Analysis of Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in Wonosobo, Temanggung, and Magelang Regencies

“…Cassava is a food, feed and raw material for the textile, paper and glue industries (Sudarmonowati et al, 2018), as a raw material for mocaf (Analianasari et al, 2020), nutraceutical in the form of polyphenols in cassava leaves as a source of antioxidants (Laya & Koubala, 2020). Cassava plants originate from South America are cultivated in the tropics through domestication selection by the domestication selection by community cultivation (Monteros-Altamirano et al, 2021). Based on harvested area and cassava production, Central…”

“…The morphological characteristics of cassava are a reference for comparison to distinguish one variety from another (Nurdjanah et al, 2020). Cassava is generally divided into two groups, namely sweet types for consumption and bitter types for industrial raw materials (Monteros-Altamirano et al, 2021). Rapid characterization of cassava plants requires morphological characterization.…”

“…Descriptions should be easily observed, have a high degree of discrepancy, and have low environmental influence. For example, the EMBRAPA-Brasil Corporation has 75 morphological descriptions of cassa-va and 47 traditional varieties, 159 accessions conserved in the field in Côte d'Ivoire, Africa, and in Mexico 40 accessions were characterized from a germplasm bank (Monteros-Altamirano et al, 2021).…”