Determining the sources of heterogeneity in Greek faba bean local populations

• Published in: Field crops research Vol. 105; no. 2; pp. 124 - 130
• Main Authors: Terzopoulos, P.J, Kaltsikes, P.J, Bebeli, P.J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: agronomic traits; color; faba beans; flowers; genetic variation; genotype-environment interaction; germplasm; germplasm screening; height; inflorescences; low input agriculture; phenotypic variation; plant adaptation; plant genetic resources; plant pigments; pods; stems; Vicia faba; Greece
• ISSN: 0378-4290; 1872-6852

The development of new locally adapted populations and varieties for low-input environments requires the study of the phenotypic diversity pattern in available genetic resources. In this study, 54 Greek faba bean populations were cultivated over a 3-year period. Eleven morphological and 10 agronomic traits were used to describe the variation among and within populations. Furthermore, the populations germplasm pool was compared to a germplasm pool of populations derived from the inter-crossing of 54 local populations in an open-pollinated field. Nei's genetic diversity statistics analysis was applied to the morphological traits. A nested and crossed factor design and the discriminant analysis were used for analyzing the agronomic trait variations. A nested factor design was used to compare the two gene pools. The phenotypic diversity average among populations was 0.10. Among the morphological traits, stem colour at maturity, stem pigmentation at flowering time and pod distribution contributed to population heterogeneity in most cases. The phenotypic diversity values of the populations (ranging from 0.37 to 0.65) did not differ statistically. The populationxyear interaction was not significant for plant height and other pertinent traits. Within populations there was significant heterogeneity for most of the agronomic traits. The agronomic traits which contributed mostly to among and within population heterogeneity were pod length, number of flowers per inflorescence, pods per node, stem thickness and flowers per inflorescence/pods per node. Inter-crosses led to populations with higher performance regarding most agronomic traits due apparently to heterotic increments. It is concluded that local population mixtures can be used to develop locally adapted populations for low-input and diverse marginal environments using all the available heterogeneity found within the populations.