Genetic and phenotypic variabilities of 24 Impatiens platypetala accessions from South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract

Impatiens platypetala (IP) is an important ornamental plant. The genetic parameters were estimated and the genotype clustering determined of 24 IP accessions collected in 2008 from South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A randomized complete block design was used with the 24 IP accessions as treatments. The agronomic characters measured were plant height, canopy width, leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, and flower diameter. The morphological characters recorded were the colors of the leaves and flowers and the presence of a flower eye zone. Genotypic and phenotypic variations were calculated using analysis of variance. The results were expressed in SD values, genotypic and phenotypic variance components, broad-sense heritability estimates, genetic advance, degree of similarity for pairs of species, cluster analysis of the morphological data and matrix coefficient analysis. The averages of the taxonomic distance and the matrix of genetic similarity were compared through the correlation test function of MXCOMP with the NTSYS v2.1 software. Plant height, canopy width, leaf length, flower diameter, flowering time and fruit ripening time had higher heritability estimates (h²_bs = 0.57 – 0.98), more extensive genetic variability and higher genetic advance, thus they can be used as criteria for future breeding programs. Clustering of the genotypes, based on combinations of the agronomic and morphological data suggested differences in the genotypes. The combination data revealed that the 2008_17 genotype is possible a new Impatiens species.