Solenostemon rotundifolius is an herbaceous plant from Labiatae family which
produces edible tubers. It is one of the minor crops with high nutritional and
socio-economic potential. Previous research works on its genetic resources
made it possible to identify around sixty traits that can serve as descriptors
for the plant. Agromorphological characterization of partial collections of
S. rotundifolius revealed low variability for the main traits related to tuber
size and yield. As a vegetatively propagated and minor crop, evaluation of
the depth of the variability of S. rotundifolius requires larger collections from
different agroecological conditions. A collection of 174 accessions of S.
rotundifolius from nine (9) provinces of Burkina Faso and nine (9) districts
of Ghana was characterized in a Randomized Complete Blocks Design with
three replications. Twelve quantitative traits related to the cycle, the canopy,
and leaf size and yield were measured. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
revealed significant differences within the collection (at level P=0.05 or
0.01) in all the traits. Based on hierarchical ascendant classification, six
different agromorphological groups were identified. Analysis of variance
revealed significant differences among the accessions based on the mean
rainfall of their area of origin. This study provided useful data for a better
understanding of the agromorphological variability of S. rotundifolius. Such
variability could help build up a breeding program or for further research on
the genetic diversity of S. rotundifolius

Lamiaceae; Tuber; Minor crop; Agromorphological variability