Morpho-agronomic characterization and diversity assessment of indigenous finger millet landraces

Abstract:

While finger millet breeders in Africa and India work with hundreds of improved lines, a largely untapped reservoir of genetic diversity sits in island landraces that have never been systematically characterized. This research assessed 60 indigenous finger millet (Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn.) landraces collected from smallholder farms across Jeju Island, South Korea, for 12 qualitative and 8 quantitative morpho-agronomic traits at the Jeju College of Agriculture and Life Sciences during 2022-23. A randomized complete block design with two replications was used. Substantial variation was observed: plant height ranged from 42.3 to 118.6 cm, days to maturity from 86 to 148, ear length from 3.1 to 11.4 cm, and grain yield from 4.6 to 24.8 g plant⁻¹. Principal component analysis grouped landraces into three clusters-early, medium, and late maturity-with the first two PCs explaining 56.1% of total variation. Shannon diversity index (H′) was 2.34, indicating high phenotypic diversity. Eight landraces combining high yield (≥18 g), high calcium (≥340 mg/100 g), and early maturity (≤105 days) were identified as priority accessions for breeding and conservation.