Morphological Variations inTamarindus indicaLINN. Fruits and Seed Traits in the Different Agroecological Zones of Uganda

Abstract

An investigation was carried out on variations in the morphological traits ofTamarindus indicaLINN. fruits (length, breadth, mass, and pulp mass) and seeds (number and mass) from the different agroecological zones and land use types of Uganda. Fruits were collected from the two land use types in the three agroecological zones and measured for various morphological traits. The study sites were located between 593 and 1,096 meters above sea level. ANOVA was used to test the differences in morphological traits of fruits and seeds between agroecological zones and land use types. The morphological traits relationship was determined using Pearson Correlation Coefficient (R). There were significant (P≤0.05) variations among theT. indicafruits and seed morphological traits within the agroecological zones and land use types. Lake Victoria Crescent agroecological zone recorded higher fruits morphological traits values. Wild and on-farm land use types were superior in fruits and seed traits, respectively. Many seeds per fruit (17) were recorded in Uganda (Eastern agroecological zone) than those recorded elsewhere. Significant uphill positive linear correlations between all morphological traits (P≤0.05) were observed, with the strongest relationships being between seed mass and seed number (R=0.79), fruit mass and fruit length (R=0.75), pulp mass and fruit mass (R=0.73), and seed mass and fruit mass (R=0.73). However, fruit breadth presented slightly weaker positive linear correlations with all other morphological traits. This is the first quantitative evaluation ofT. indicamorphological traits variation in Uganda. Dispersion/variation and correlation relationships suggest that all the studied morphological traits can be used for selection of plus trees for tree breeding improvement such as yield per tree. The observed variations are probably attributed to influence of agroecological zones’ factors, environmental factors, climate, land use types, and farming systems, a reflection ofT. indicaadaptation to different conditions showing high genetic and phenotypic differences to be exploited.

Phytochemicals, Antioxidant Activity and Ethnobotanical Uses of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del. Fruits from the Arid Zone of Mauritania, Northwest Africa

“…However, values reported from Sudan were higher regarding fruit weight (7.1 g), length (27.7 mm) and diameter (21.6 mm), than those reported in the present study [8]. Variations in fruit morphology among populations of the same species have been reported in other tree species such as Tamarindus indica [32] and Acacia Tortilis [33]. The observed variations could be the results of adaptive evolution in response to different factors such as environmental and climatic conditions.…”

Morphological variation in Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., and its relationship with the environment along a longitudinal gradient

“…The combinations of and interactions between environmental factors (soil and climate) and longitude may significantly influence morphological variation in bermudagrass [52,60]. In this study, a large proportion of the internode lengths in regions 8 and 10 were longer than those in plants in the vicinity, possibly due to the fact that the MAR in these areas was much higher than in the neighboring regions.…”

Phenotypic Diversity of Doum Palm (Hyphaene compressa), a Semi‐Domesticated Palm in the Arid and Semi‐Arid Regions of Kenya

“…Purposive sampling was used to select 30 female trees from each region. Doum palm trees sampled were separated from each other by at least 200 meters to reduce the probability of sampling close relatives [ 22 ]. From each sampled female tree, 10 fruits were randomly collected.…”

“…The collected fruits were labelled, placed in bags, and transported to the laboratory for morphological assessment. The fruits collected from each tree were pooled and stored in one bag [ 22 ]. Some of the descriptors used for morphology were adapted from a descriptor list available for date palm [ 16 ].…”