<p>The interest in using Jatropha curcas L. from the<br />family Euphorbiaceae for the production of biofuel is rapidly<br />growing. The research objective was to determine genetic<br />variation of several high yielding physic nuts based on their<br />morphology, agronomy, and isozyme characters. The<br />research used Completely Randomized Design with three<br />replications. The treatment was consisted of 8 genotypes i.e.<br />IP-1A, IP-1M, IP-2P, Lombok Timur, Lombok Tengah,<br />Lombok Barat, Sumbawa, and Bima. Analysis of isozyme of<br />the eight genotypes was also conducted according to 5<br />enzyme systems, i.e. peroksidase, esterase, aspartat<br />aminotransferase, malat dehidrogenase, and alcohol<br />dehidrogenase. Observation was done on qualitative and<br />quantitative characters as well as banding pattern derivedisozymes.<br />The results showed that genetic variation was low<br />when based on qualitative characters and isozyme (0-25%)<br />but relatively high when based on selected quantitative<br />characters analysis (17-81%). Analysis of combined<br />qualitative, quantitative, and isozyme characters still gave<br />low genetic variation (6-33%). Based on the quantitative<br />characters at similarity coefficient of 46% the genotypes can<br />be devided into three clusters. Improved population<br />genotypes, i.e. IP-1A, IP-1M, and IP-2P were placed in 3<br />different clusters, while other genotypes from NTB area<br />were grouped in the same cluster. Therefore, selection<br />among population of the same ecotype based on agronomic<br />characters such as yield components, yield and oil content<br />was suitable in Jatropha improvement, especially when<br />genetic variation was low. Furthermore, introduction,<br />mutation and crossing are suggested to increase genetic<br />variation of current Jatropha collection.</p>
Variability in seed traits, oil content and genetic diversity in local and exotic accessions of Jatropha curcas L. in Senegal
