AGROMORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISATION OF GBOMA EGGPLANT, AN INDIGENOUS FRUIT AND LEAFY VEGETABLE IN GHANA

Gboma (Solanum macrocarpon L.) is an important leafy and fruit vegetable in Ghana. Despite its nutritional and medicinal properties, and consumption by many ethnic groups in the country, the crop is underdeveloped. The objective of this study was to characterise diversity among local landraces of Solanum macrocarpon in Ghana using agro-morphological descriptors in order to identify outstanding accessions which could be involved in further breeding programmes. A total of 23 accessions collected from different agro-ecological zones in Ghana were characterised using morphological descriptors. The accessions varied significantly in days t o 50% flowering, days to fruiting, stem girth, fruit weight, number of seeds per fruit, weight of leaves per plant and plant height. Principal components analysis based on the morphological traits showed that PC1 for 99% of the total variation was mainly defined by number of leaves, number of branches, plant height, stem girth and number of leaves per plant. The accessions evaluated were grouped under five clusters. The clustering pattern indicated that intercluster distance was higher than intra-cluster, indicating wide genetic diversity among the accessions. Correlation analyses between morphological traits revealed positive and negative relationships, indicating predictable success for eventual breeding activities. Accessions CAGRICW3, CAGRICW4, CAGRICN2 and CAGRICA4 had more leaves and fruits, and could be used as potential donors for hybridisation programme to develop variety with higher yield potential.