Agromorphological Characterization of Ginger (<i>Zingiber officinale</i> Rosc., Zingiberaceae) Accessions Grown in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

In C?te d’Ivoire, ginger ( Zingiber officinale Rosc.), generally used to make a drink called “Gnamankoudji”, has become an important source of agricultural income diversification. In order to assess the agromorphological diversity of a ginger collection from different regions of C?te d’Ivoire, a survey collec tion of accessions was carried out in the different production zones of the country. One hundred and eighty-eight ginger accessions were collected in 15 regions and one autonomous district of C?te d’Ivoire. Analysis of variance revealed that all the variables used in this study discriminated between th e ginger accessions collected. Principal component analysis revealed morpho logical variability of 45.931% for the first two components. Ascending Hie rarchical Classification was used to classify these accessions into three groups based on fourteen quantitative characters. These three groups were formed independently of collection areas and are characterized by moderate morpho logical variability. This variability has been structured into three distinct agromorphological groups, with thallus (rhizome) length and width, finger width, secondary finger length and yield in tons per hectare as distinctive characters. This revealed genetic diversity could be exploited in ginger breeding and improvement programs in C?te d’Ivoire.