Comparative Analysis of M Progenies against Two Cassava Parents for Improved Food Qualities

Abstract

Polyploidy cassava seeds produced by two varieties raised from colchicine-treated materials (TMS98/0505 and TMS98/0581) at three levels of concentration: 0, 2 and 4ppm with their parents were established in the field at the National Root Crops Research Institute Umudike, South Eastern Nigeria. The study aimed to evaluate the level of genetic variability developed in the progenies compared with their parents. In the study, 25cm Stakes of each variety were cut and planted on ridges in a 4 x 5m plot, at a spacing of 1m x 1 m apart in a randomized complete block design replicated three times. The biological seeds derived from the crosses between two varieties were planted in a single-row design at a spacing of 1m intra and 0.3m inter-row. The plots were kept weed-free and NPK fertilizer was applied at the rate of 400kg/ha. The proximate analyses of the roots were carried out using the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) method and analyzed using the SPSS statistical package and means were separated using the Duncan multiple range test. The result of the proximate analysis of physicochemical characteristics from the parents and their progenies revealed higher variations in their nutrient quality than the progenies. The higher average range of the starch content of the progenies shows that there is the possibility of developing cassava varieties that are high in starch content from induced mutation. The result also showed that there is zero phenol level in the progenies against the range (0.11 – 0.50%) in the parents, indicating that these developed materials meet the industrial requirement for baby formulae.