Preliminary assessment of the influence of environment on growth parameters and yield in some genotypes of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. from Niger

Abstract

The development of cultivars with a high level of performance over a wide range of environmental conditions is the goal of most crop breeding programmes. Preliminary study on the performance of 36 genotypes of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. was conducted during the 2002 rainy season at two locations representing two different agro-ecological zones of Niger. Number of days to flowering and days to 50% maturity were recorded. At maturity, plant height, basal diameter of the principal stem, number of branches per plant, total seed weight per plant and 100-seeds weight were measured. The ANOVA showed high significance of genotype and location for all traits. The variability was mainly attributed to differences in soil type and climatic conditions during the growing season, since ecotypes were fixed. The results suggest a genotype x environment interaction. It is, therefore, important to consider the environmental factor in H. sabdariffa breeding programs.