Morphological Diversity of Edible Yam (Dioscorea spp) in Tablas, Island, Romblon, Philippines

Abstract

Yam plants (Dioscorea spp), either wild or cultivated, propagate naturally and are highly productive crops even in marginal areas adapted to diverse conditions. This crop plays a vital role in the lives of many people, as a staple food, feedstuff to livestock/poultry and medicine. However, limited study was conducted on the morphological characterization of edible yams in Tablas Island, Romblon. This study was conducted to determine the morphological characteristics of the existing yam in the province. The different accessions from seven species were collected from cultivated and wild species and were assessed using the descriptors for yams proposed by International Plant Genetic Resources Institute and the National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory to characterize the yam.  Data on morphological diversity were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentage and frequency. Eighty-six morphological characters were used in morphological characterization and in assessing the genetic diversity of accessions using the Shannon-Weaver Index. Frequency distribution per trait was determined for the calculation of diversity.  The mean H’ of the qualitative and quantitative traits was high, H=0.62 and H=0.83, respectively. The qualitative and quantitative traits have shown normal frequency distribution indicating a wide variation of yam accessions in Tablas Island.