PJB-2020-191
VARIABILITY IN NUTRITIONAL TRAITS OF TETRAPLEURA TETRAPTERA (SCHUM AND THONN) (TAUB) FRUIT FROM SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA
Ngozi E. Abu
Abstract
Tetrapleura tetraptera is greatly cherished for its dietary and therapeutic properties. Nevertheless, the plant grows mainly in the wild and gradually it is being wiped due to no adequate conservation or breeding efforts. Therefore, to make any significant progress in this direction, the nature of variation in this crop needs to be established. In this present study, dry pods of Tetrapleura tetraptera collected from four States in South Eastern Nigeria were analyzed for variations in proximate, minerals, vitamins and phytochemical composition. The analyses were carried out in triplicates at National Centre for Energy Research and Development, University of Nigeria, Enugu. The results showed that Enugu accessions had significantly higher K and Na, Ebonyi had higher Zn, Ca, and Mg while Abia had higher Fe content. vit. A, vit. B2, vit. C, vit. E and vit. K ranged from 2.18 – 2.81, 0.12 – 0.24, 0.75 – 1.13, 2.16 – 3.20 and 0.21 – 0.55 mg/100g respectively. Enugu accession had higher phytochemicals as compared to accessions from the other locations. The genetic component analysis revealed that the variability in evaluated trait were controlled more by genetic than non-genetic factors which indicates a considerable scope for selection among the studied accessions. Specifically, high estimate of broad sense heritability with high genetic advance obtained for K, Ca, Mg, Carbohydrate and Terpenoids, giving room for direct selection in improving these attributes. Principal Component Analysis showed that all the attributes examined contributed maximally to the observed diversity among these accessions. Two clusters emerged with Ebonyi and Enugu accessions identified as superior genotypes based on multiple trait performance suggesting that selection of superior accessions may be carried out for more than one trait. These accessions will broaden the genetic base of T. tetraptera germplasm for domestication and varietal development.
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