ARS | Publication request: MORPHOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL VARIABILITY IN CORIANDER GERMPLASM

Submitted to: Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops Conference
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: July 20, 2004
Publication Date: September 19, 2004
Citation: Lopez, P., Widrlechner, M.P. 2004. Morphological and chemical variability in coriander germplasm. Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops Conference, September 19-23, Minneapolis, MN. AAIC Abstracts p. 30.

Technical Abstract: Coriander, Coriandrum sativum L., is widely used as a fresh green herb, a dry spice (from fruits), and a source of essential oils. The objective of this ongoing study is to describe morphological, phenological, and chemical diversity of coriander accessions conserved by the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station in Ames, IA. In 2002, 139 accessions of coriander were evaluated for morphological and phenological traits. Seed samples were harvested and provided to the Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, IL for fatty-acid analysis. A correlation matrix was computed from these results and highly correlated characteristics eliminated. Then a cluster analysis was conducted on the correlation matrix. Based on the results of the initial cluster analysis, 60 diverse accessions were selected for field evaluation with two planting dates in 2003. Samples from the 2003 trial were used to analyze volatile compounds from the leaves and for essential-oil extraction from the fruits. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out for morphological and phenological data for each year of evaluation; ANOVA for both fatty-acid composition and essential-oil content was done for 2003. Nine clusters were revealed by the UPGMA clustering algorithm when an average distance of 0.5 between clusters was applied. ANOVA for morphological and phenological traits and for fatty-acid and essential-oil contents revealed many highly significant differences among accessions and between planting dates, with interaction effects for several traits. Fatty-acid content ranged from 4.9 to 28.9%. Volatile compounds produced by leaves varied little among accessions. Essential-oil content ranged from 0.24 to 1.87% and was generally unaffected by planting date. Preliminary information from this study revealed considerable variation among tested accessions. Our next step is to apply molecular markers (AFLPs) to complete the germplasm characterization and examine possible relationships between genetic and phenotypic variation.