ISSN:
1572-9710
Keywords:
agricultural practices
;
in situ conservation
;
linguistic evidence
;
Pachyrhizus tuberosus landraces
;
South America
;
leguminous tuber/root crop
;
principal component analysis
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract The tuberous legume Pachyrhizus tuberosus is found in cultivation sporadically throughout the tropical lowlands of South America. As a result of field studies conducted in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, three distinct cultivar groups have been identified. Rare references presenting further evidence in support of this grouping, and yielding information on the cultivation history, are reviewed. The differences in morphology, agricultural practices, tuberous root quality and uses have been studied, as has the linguistic evidence of the origin and domestication processes. The herbarium and live material have been subjected to multivariate analyses in order to establish which easily observable phenotypic characters can be used in the identification of the three cultivar groups. This paper reports on the analysis of 23 morphological characteristics from 31 P. tuberosus cultivar records. The considerable potential of this cultivar/landrace complex and the possibilities of establishing in situ conservation initiatives are discussed.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1018326805849
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