MORPHOLOGICAL AND YIELD CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME CULTIVATED AND WILD ACCESSIONS OF CORCHORUS OLITORIUS GROWN UNDER FIELD CONDITION

The rationale behind this study was to comparatively evaluate the biological and agronomic characters of the crop. The work aimed at assessing the morphological and yield performances of cultivated and wild accessions of Corchorus olitorius under uncontrolled open field condition. Fourteen accessions of C. olitorius seeds were sourced from three local Institutions. Seeds of these accessions were subjected to two seed treatments (heat treated seeds and untreated seeds) and were then planted on a 180 m2 plot following standard agronomic recommendations and using randomized complete block design (RCBD). Data were collected on morphological and yield characters of the crop, and data collected were subjected to analysis of variance to determine if treatments were significant. Significant means of treatment were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Tests; while Pearson Correlation, cluster and Principal Component Analyses were also employed to study the relationships and variability of the accessions and their characters. Results indicated that accession and treatment were significant on the characters evaluated; and the characters also had significant positive correlation with one another in most cases. The cultivated accessions had very close relationships, while the wild species were distinct and different. This study thus demonstrated that the accessions investigated were highly variable for all the morphological and yield traits evaluated. This variability harbors obvious potential for improvement in C. olitorius.