Genetic divergence among cowpea UFC germplasm bank accessions

Abstract

The objective of this study was to characterize the genetic variability of agronomic and botanical traits and to quantify the genetic divergence of cowpea varieties through multivariate analysis, targeting the selection of parental that demonstrate superior characters. We used 16 cowpea varieties of the Ceará Federal University germplasm bank, including a witness in a randomized design, with four replications. The experimental plot consisted of five plants in a spacing of 1 m x 1m. It was evaluated the time to flowering (F), duration of the cycle of the plant (C), length of the pod (CVA), number of pods per plant (NVP), number of seeds per pod (NSV), weight of a hundred seeds (P100S), total production (P) and production in grams per plant (P/PL). The varieties showed high genetic variability for most characters evaluated. The characters CVA, NVP, NSV, PCS, P and P/PL, showed values of h²_a above 90% indicating the possibility of genetic progress with the selection. The crossings between varieties CE-246 and CE-93, CE-246 and CE-785, CE-246 and CE-873 could result in new genetic combinations and backcrossing can be made using the access grouped together.