Morphological variation in Balanites aegyptiaca fruits and seeds within and among parkland agroforests in eastern Niger

Abstract

Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile. is one of the priority indigenous fruit trees for rural communities in the West African Sahel. As part of a participatory tree domestication program in Niger, phenotypic variation in fruit and seed morphology was assessed in four natural populations in eastern Niger. Measured variables were weight of the fruit, seed coat and kernel; length and width of the fruit and seed (25 trees per population, 30 fruits per tree). Derived variables were the tree's coefficient of variation (CVs) for each measured variable, and two sets of factor scores from principal components analysis of tree means and CVs. ANOVA indicated significant variation in all measured variables due to trees nested in populations. ANOVA and simple linear regression indicated significant geographic variation in some variables: the drier parts of the sample region tended to have heavier fruits and kernels, longer/narrower seeds, and lower within-tree variability in fruit and seed width. Length and width were strongly correlated between fruits and seeds, fruit weight was moderately correlated with seed dimensions, and CVs of fruit weight and width were moderately correlated with the CV of seed width. Some hypotheses for the geographic variation are presented, and some practical implications of the correlations for tree domestication programs are discussed.

Phenotypic variation in Pentaclethra macrophylla Benth (Fabaceae) from the humid lowlands of Cameroon

“…The statistical difference between populations and clusters in terms of tree height, tree DBH, crown diameter, number of seeds per pod, seed width, seed length, seed thickness, seed and kernel weight was assessed by conducting analysis of variance (after testing the normality) in order to show significant differences between means (P = 0.05) (Waruhiu et al, 2004). Pearson r correlations and linear regression model were used to investigate relationships among pod and kernel variables (Abasse et al, 2011). Following Leakey et al (2000), a web diagram of the phenotypic variation of all seed and kernel traits was used to define elite trees.…”

“…In Lomie, the number of seeds, seed width, seed length, seed thickness, seed weight and kernel weight were greater than in Djoum. Several authors have described the variation in fruit/seed traits among populations of tree species such as Adansonia digitata (Assogbadjo et al, 2005); Allanblackia floribunda (Atangana et al, 2010) and Balanites aegyptiaca (Abasse et al, 2011). These authors largely attributed the differences to ecological factors.…”

“…Several agroforestry trees species in the humid tropics of West Africa have already been characterized: Irvingia gabonensis (Atangana et al, 2001;Leakey and Page, 2006), Dacryodes edulis (Waruhui et al, 2004), Ricinodendron heudelotii (Ngo-Mpeck et al, 2003), Allanblackia floribunda (Atangana, 2010); in the semi-arid zones of West Africa, Adansonia digitata (Assogbadjo et al, 2005), Phoenix dactilifera (Bodian et al, 2010), and Balanites aegyptiaca (Abasse et al, 2011) have been studied. However, nothing has so far been done for P. macrophylla.…”

KARAKTERISTIK BUAH DAN MUTU MORFO-FISIOLOGIS BENIH LONKIDA (Nauclea orientalis L.) DARI HABITAT ALAMI DI SULAWESI TENGGARA

“…Beberapa aspek penting dari kedua faktor tersebut yang berkontribusi terhadap karakter buah dan biji (ukuran dan berat) diantaranya tegakan/pohon sumber benih (Mukassabi et al, 2012;Pollice et al, 2012), provenans/ geografis (Abasse 2011;Assogbadjo et al, habitat di Sulawesi Tenggara. Koleksi buah dan biji dilakukan dari empat habitat yakni darat kering, rawa, rawa temporal dan savanna.…”

Changes in Vapour Pressure Deficit and Air-To-Leaf Temperature Difference Due to the Effects of Watering Frequency and Seasonal Variation-Induced Adaptive Responses in <i>Balanites aegyptiaca</i> in Saudi Arabia

“…The tree is reported to have wide intraspecific variability among variable geographical zones in seeds and fruits 2 , seedling response to imposed drought 3 and adaptive mechanisms for salinity and water stresses 4 . In addition to its survival under harsh environments, Balanites has many products and values 5 .…”