VARIABILITY IN ECOTYPES OF ANTHEPHORA AMPULACEA I. AGRONOMIC VARIATIONS

Twenty-nine ecotypes of Anthephora ambulacea (File grass), and collections of A. nigritana and Panicum maximum (Guinea grass) were collected from thirty native habitats in three States of Nigeria (Anambra, Benue and Imo States), and grown side by side in the Botanical garden of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Data were collected on forage yield parameters (dry matter yield, days to tillering, number of tillers per plant, plant height, leaf number and leaf area) and on seed yield parameters (days to first heading, days to 50% heading, heading height, number of spikelets per head, number of florets per head per plant, number of fertile florets and seed yield).

Wide variations were found to exist among the collections for most of these attributes. Strong correlations were also observed between some of these characters and forage yield and seed yield. These, taken together with the high heritability estimates obtained, indicate that enough genetic variability which could be incorporated in a breeding programme exists in A. ambulacea.