Evaluation of Genetic Variation in Yemeni Coffee Landraces (Coffea arabica L.) for some Morpho-physiological Traits Related to Drought Resistance

Abstract

This research work comes based on for participatory research methodology between the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at Sana'a University, the Participatory Foundation for Research and Dissemination (PFRD) and the Yemeni Association for Sustainable Agriculture Development (YASAD), in which 20 samples of Yemeni Coffee Landraces (YCL) were collected and tested at an early stage and under an environmentally controlled condition in order to highlight the importance of genetic traits related to the ability of the coffee crop to face drought. This requires the existence of genetic variation that researchers rely on in genetic improvement procedures to increase the ability of local varieties to endure biotic and abiotic stresses of which drought and lack of water are at the forefront of these factors. In this study, the results showed that there are significant genetic variation in most of the studied traits, and that calculating the components of genetic, and environmental variances enabled the estimation of the degree of heritability, whose values varied between (9-90%), and enabled the distinction of traits that can be relied on in evaluating genetic resources and selecting local varieties and landraces that can be propagated and cultivated or introduced in breeding and genetic improvement programs to produce varieties that are more tolerant and suitable for drought and water shortages and reduce the effects of current and potential climate changes in the future. Principal Component Analyses (PCA) and clustering analyses have enabled the sorting of genetic groups with multiple traits that have demonstrated genetic variation and characterized the most stable and adapted local landraces under drought conditions in the early stages of plant life, plants have been retained and research and evaluation will continue under agricultural field conditions.