Agro-morphological evaluation of onion accessions (Allium cepa L.) from Burkina Faso

Abstract

Twenty-three (23) onion (Allium cepa L.) accessions collected in different localities of Burkina Faso were assessed on research station for agro-morphological characteristics. The objectives of the study were to determine their morphological characteristics, to assess their agronomic performance and to describe the structure of variability within the collection. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four (04) replicates was used as experiment design. Data collected focused on 13 quantitative and 6 qualitative variables. The results obtained showed that variability exists both within accessions and between accessions in the assessed collection. The main parameters on which this variability relies are the rate of early bolting, the number of leaves, the average bulb yield and the shape and color of the of bulbs skin. Analysis of agro-morphological parameters revealed three distincts groups G1, G2 and G3, with more or less homogeneous accessions, composed by 5, 13 and 3 accessions, respectively. The inter-group variability is greater (51%) than that within the group. These results make it possible to know the agro-morphological performances of the onion accessions and to identify those which may be of interest for the onion improvement program.