EVALUATION OF DIOSCOREA ALATA FOR TUBER YIELD AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS ON TWO TYPES OF SOIL IN MALAYSIA – A PRELIMINARY OBSERVATION

Accessions of Dioscorea alata locally collected were assessed for their morphological characters and tuber yield on two soil types in Malaysia.
Three accessions were evaluated.
These accessions are differentiated based on their morphological characteristics of leaf, stem and tubers.
The first accession has a tuber with compact purple flesh and a red cortex.
The second accession has a tuber with white and purplish flesh and a white cortex.
Both accessions have newly-developed leaves and stems which are reddish in colour while mature leaves turn green with a tinge of reddish colour at both ends of the petiole where it connects to the stem and leaf blade.
The third one has tubers with white flesh and a white cortex.
The newly-developed leaves and stems as well as mature leaves of this accession are green.
In all these three accessions, the climbing stem is square in cross-section while the leaves are heart-shaped.
The tubers are mostly branched and fused at peduncle.
The tuber yields of the accessions evaluated on the two soil types are discussed.

I International Symposium on Root and Tuber Crops: Food Down Under

A. Aminah, S.L. Tan, I. Hasim

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.670.10