Pheno-morphological diversity of Haitian taro cultivars

Abstract

Taro corm is consumed in Haiti as a sustain against malnutrition, but no study was so far reported about Haitian taro. An ongoing breeding program, aimed at supporting corm production, includes the present investigations on taro. Eleven taro accessions sampled in 9 departments of Haiti were tested at Torbeck from January to August 2018. Seven variables were considered and treated with SPSS. Significant (p < 0.05) differences appeared for three of the seven considered traits. Corm marketable yield varied from 2.97 to 12.79 t/ha (p<0.05), the locations with the largest yield being Coteaux (South department, 12.79 t/ha), Petite- Riviére de Nippes (Nippes department, 7.56 t/ha) and Jacmel (South East department, 7.01 t/ha). Corm marketable yield was significantly (p < 0.001) and directly related with weight of corm per plant (ρ = 0.999), leaf length (ρ = 0.924) and leaf width (ρ = 0.795). Haitian taro cultivars were divided in three separate clusters. The largest differences concerned taro accessions from Grande Rivière du Nord and Coteaux. The results of this study show that accessions from Coteaux, Petite Riviére de Nippes and Jacmel should be recommended in the plant selection program to increase corm production in Haiti.

Keywords: Taro, marketable yield, diversity, cultivars, Haiti.