Abstract:
The success of any breeding programme depends to a large extent on the amount of genetic
variability present in the working population at the disposal of the breeder(s). An experiment was
set out to assess the genetic variability among 79 accessions of natural dura oil palm collected in
Ghana and conserved at OPRI by evaluating 18 agro-morphological traits, 11 years after field
planting. The 79 dura oil palms accessions were laid out in an augmented design with two checks
on each block. Data were collected on vegetative, yield and yield related characters (bunch and
fruit characters). Collected data were analysed using R-statistical software. Results revealed
significant variation among the 79 dura oil palm accessions for all traits except total fronds,
average bunch weight, percent fruit to bunch and percent kernel to fruit. Heritability (h2), ranged
from 0 to 85.27 %, genetic coefficient of variation (GCV) from 0 to 68.74%, phenotypic coefficient
of variation (PCV), from 7.74 to 95.76% and genetic advance (GA), from 0 to 12.72 %. Fresh fruit
bunch and bunch weight exhibited high values for h2, GCV and moderate GA suggesting a high
potential for improvement through selection and better response to selection. Five axes were
identified using the principal components (PCs) with Eigen values greater than one explaining
74.82% of the total variance. The first to fifth components accounted for 34.25%, 15.10%, 11.86%,
7.47% and 6.13% of the variation respectively. Accessions GHA 217/02, GHA 221/02, GHA
225/03, GHA 212/02, GHA 203/02, GHA 201/01, GHA 202/01, GHA 221/04, GHA 209/02, GHA
202/02 and GHA 211/02 were phenotypically distant (more diverse) and could be selected for the
improvement of the oil palm. Cluster analysis also resolved the accessions into two main clusters
based on the 18 agro-morphological traits at 98 % dissimilarity index. Six pairs of accessions were
identified as potential duplicates. There was no correlation between clustering and location of
collection. Generally, significant positive correlations were found among the vegetative and yield
characters while negative correlations were found between vegetative and yield traits on one hand
and bunch and fruit characters on the other hand. There was a perfect association between the fresh
fruit bunch and bunch weight. Potential accessions were identified and have been recommended
for utilization in future improvement of the crop. The results suggests potential for effective
utilisation of the dura collections in the OPRI’s oil palm breeding programmes and the possibility
of establishing a core collections of dura oil palm from the germplasm collection evaluated in this
work.