PHENETIC ANALYSIS OF CULTIVATED TARO (Colocasia esculenta [L.] Schott) ACCESSIONS BASED ON MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERS

Taro (Colocasia esculenta L. Schott; Araceae) is a cultivated plant originating from Southeast Asia. Taro accessions are widespread in Java, Indonesia, and are known to have high morphological diversity. However, information about the phenetic relationships between taro genotypes is lacking. The present study aimed to determine the phenetic relationships and intraspecies classification of taro genotypes from Java on the basis of morphological characters. Seventy-three accessions of taro were obtained from existing collections and through exploration in Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. On the basis of morphological traits, the variations in taro accessions were mainly shown by roots, corms, and leaf parts. Generally, the leaves of taro accessions from Java, Indonesia, were peltate. Results revealed that leaf organs had the highest variation, especially in terms of color characteristic patterns. In the analysis of phenetic relationships by using the Gower Similarity and Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean Method, the taro genotypes were classified into two groups (pink and white) on the basis of root color, tip color, leaf exudates, and ring color on the midrib base. On the basis of primary leaf veins, the white group of the taro accessions was further subdivided into two groups, i.e., dark green and light green. Dendrograms showed that all the accessions were divided into two main clusters at the similarity index of 0.58. Observations based on morphological variations and phenetic analysis can be used as a basis for the intraspecies classification of taro germpalsm.