Spatial Multivariate Cluster Analysis for Defining Target Population of Environments in West Africa for Yam Breeding

Abstract

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a major staple crop with high agricultural and cultural significance for over 300 million people in West Africa. Despite its importance, productivity is miserably low. A better understanding of the environmental context in the region is essential to unlock the crop's potential for food security and wealth creation. The article aims to characterize the production environments into homologous mega-environments, having operational significance for breeding research. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed separately on environmental data related to climate, soil, topography, and vegetation. Significant PCA layers were used in spatial multivariate cluster analysis. Seven clusters were identified for West Africa; four were country-specific; the rest were region-wide in extent. Clustering results are valuable inputs to optimize yam varietal selection and testing within and across the countries in West Africa. The impact of breeding research on poverty reduction and problems of market accessibility in yam production zones were highlighted.

Review of empirical and emerging breeding methods and tools for yam (Dioscorea spp.) improvement: Status and prospects

“…The partitioning of yam production environments into similar mega‐environments will have functional implications for variety testing and performance prediction for final product recommendation thereby enabling a broader impact of breeding products. Alabi et al () mapped the yam production environment in four West African countries (Nigeria, Benin, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire) that account for 92% of global yam production, using 23 bioclimatic variables, 21 soil properties layers, 18 remote sensing vegetation layers and five topographic variables derived from digital elevation model data. Seven different yam mega‐environments were identified, four of which were country‐specific while three (representing 70% of the current yam production in the four countries) were featured across the four countries, indicating their usefulness in the distribution and testing of elite yam varieties in West Africa.…”

Genetic parameter estimation and selection in advanced breeding population of white Guinea yam

“…is a vegetatively propagated crop comprising >600 species (Burkill 1960), of which 11 are widely cultivated for food and industrial applications globally. White Guinea yam (D. rotundata) is among the widely cultivated species that serve as a valuable source of food and income to over 300 million people in Africa (Alabi et al 2019). The global yam production is estimated at 73 million tons, with West Africa accounting for more than 93% of the total yam production (Aighewi et al 2020).…”

End‐user preferences for pounded yam and implications for food product profile development

“…Of the eight principal cultivated species in west Africa, white or Guinea yam (D. rotundata poir) and water yam (D. alata) are the most important. Yam is a major and preferred staple food for over 300 million people in west Africa (Alabi et al, 2019). It provides significant nutritional benefits in the form of calories from carbohydrates, protein, dietary fibre and micronutrients (Asiedu & Sartie, 2010;Apara, 2013).…”