Phenotypic variation and genotypic diversity of Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn (finger millet) germplasm collection in Malawi

Eleusine coracana L. Gaertn has remained neglected and underutilized in Malawi partly due to limited research that includes crop improvement. Any effort to exploit the genetic potential of the available genetic variability could lead to identification of potential germplasm for improved varieties. This study characterised agro-morphological traits and identified genetic diversity amongst the germplasm collections using Kompetitive Allele Specifc PCR (KASP) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers to identify unique traits used for germplasm discrimination for seed production and crop improvement. A total of forty germplasm collections were tested at Crops and Soil Sciences Department's research farm of Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). The experiment was laid out in an alpha lattice design. From forty germplasm collections, 188 germplasm collection samples were selected for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction. Phenotypic data on agro-morphological traits were collected and subjected to multivariate analysis. Genotypic data was subjected to analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) in R software environment (R Core Team, 2021). Three principal components (PC1, PC2 and PC3) explained 42% of the total phenotypic variation among the germplasm collection while AMOVA revealed a 48% genotyping variation within and 53% genotypic variation among the germplasm collection. Cluster analysis grouped the 188 genotyped germplasm collection into 6 clusters. Phenotypic variation and genotypic diversity exist in finger millet which aids in the discrimination of the germplasm collection in seed production and in a breeding program.