Estimation of genetic diversity in Cenchrus ciliaris accessions introduced in the Brazilian semi-arid region

The objective of this work was to evaluate the genetic variability of Cenchrus ciliaris accessions using morpho-agronomic descriptors for the identification of germplasm with phenotypic divergence that can be used as male parents in breeding programmes for the species. Thirty-eight accessions were characterised using six quantitative and 12 qualitative descriptors. The descriptors that most contributed to the divergence were inflorescence length (22.48%), leaf blade width (19.52%) and leaf blade length (18.35%). Based on the mean grouping test, for the character basal tillering intensity, the accessions were distributed into three groups, of which accessions CPATSA79125 and CPATSA79150 had the most tillers. Thus, there was genetic diversity among the evaluated accessions, with an emphasis on the CPATSA79123 and CPATSA90611 genotypes, as they were the most divergent accessions and thus can be used in clonal selections and in the prospection of genes of agronomic interest. The different accessions can be selected for the most varied objectives of the improvement programmes for the species.