Morphological Characterization and Diversity of Bambara Groundnuts in Uganda

Sixty nine Bambara groundnut accessions were evaluated at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), Namulonge, Uganda to determine their morphological variability in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Analysis of variance showed significant (P < 0.01) divergence among accessions for all traits. Cluster analysis exhibited six distinct clusters with the highest intra-cluster distance (8.09) observed in cluster II and the lowest distance (0.00) in cluster VI. Maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between cluster VI and IV and minimum distance between cluster II and IV. Inter-cluster distance was much higher than intra-cluster distance suggesting a wider variability among accessions. All late maturing accessions with high yield were grouped in cluster V while early maturing accessions were grouped in cluster III. Results of principal component analysis indicated that both yield and vegetative traits were the principal discriminatory characteristics. The accessions evaluated exhibited high diversity for most traits indicating that they can be used in breeding programs to develop varieties with desirable traits.