@article{fdi:010080008,
  title = {{A}gromorphological characterization revealed three phenotypic groups in a region-wide germplasm of fonio ({D}igitaria exilis ({K}ippist) {S}tapf) from {W}est {A}frica},
  author = {{Y}erima, {A}rib and {A}chigan-{D}ako, {E}. {G}. and {A}issata, {M}. and {S}ekloka, {E}. and {B}illot, {C}. and {A}dje, {C}. {O}. {A}. and {B}arnaud, {A}deline and {B}akasso, {Y}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{F}onio is an ancient orphan cereal, cultivated by resource-poor farmers in arid and semi-arid regions of {W}est {A}frica, who conserved and used the cereal for nutrition and income generation. {H}owever, the extent and patterns of phenotypic variation within the fonio germplasm remain scarcely evaluated to inform breeding decisions. {I}n this study, we used alpha lattice design to assess the phenotypic variability of 180 fonio accessions using 20 agro morphological descriptors, including both qualitative and quantitative traits at {B}engou research station in 2018 and 2019. {D}escriptive statistics, combined analysis and multivariate analyses, including principal components analysis ({PCA}), hierarchical clustering, and multiple factor analysis ({MFA}) were performed. {A}s results, we found significant differences among fonio accessions and among agro ecological zones of provenance for most of the quantitative traits. {F}urthermore, highly significant positive correlations were found between grain yield and other yield-related attributes such as harvest index and thousand seeds weight, whereas significant negative correlations were found between grain yield and flowering and maturity times. {C}lusters analysis revealed three phenotypic groups. {G}roup 1 was characterized by early maturing fonio accessions with higher grain yield. {G}roups 2 and 3 were characterized by late maturing accessions with intermediate to moderate grain yield. {T}he accessions from {G}roup 1 are candidate for yield improvement and development of fonio lines with enhanced lodging resistance. {A}ccessions from {G}roup 2 and 3 can be improved for yield through marker-assisted selection of best thousand seed weight. {T}his study highlights how traits are correlated within the major phenotypic groups of fonio in {W}est {A}frica, and we discussed how these groups could be further exploited for improving traits of economic importance. {F}urthermore, this study exhibited agro morphological descriptors that discriminate fonio accessions and provide useful information for parental selection with economically important agronomic traits.},
  keywords = {fonio ; fonio millet ; white fonio ; {D}igitaria exilis ; agro morphological descriptors ; phenotypic diversity ; neglected and underutilized species ({NUS}) ; genetic improvement ; {AFRIQUE} {DE} {L}'{OUEST} ; {BENIN} ; {BURKINA} {FASO} ; {GUINEE} ; {MALI}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}gronomy},
  volume = {10},
  numero = {11},
  pages = {1653 [19 p.]},
  year = {2020},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010080008},
}