Diversidade genética em cártamo (Carthamus tinctorius L.) visando sua introdução no semiárido e zonas de transição

Abstract

In the agricultural research field, the production of different species with energy potential is significant, and seeks to meet the global demand for bioenergetic species. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a species that has been cultivated for more than two millennia, being used in the manufacture of teas, enamels, paints, olive oil, among other products. It is recognized as a crop with high development and production capacity under low water availability, mainly for the semiarid and transition areas that have irregular precipitation. The study aimed to characterize 24 safflower genotypes using ISSR markers and morphoagronomic traits. Initially, DNA extractions, were performed followed by PCR amplifications with ISSR oligonucleotides to generate a dissimilarity matrix using the Nei and Li index. Subsequently, the most divergent accessions were evaluated for the following traits: plant height; number of primary branches per plant; number of capitula per plant; captulum diameter; dry matter productivity; grain productivity, and oil productivity. The results of the genetic diversity tests indicated that the methods complement each other and the molecular markers promote more detailed scans of the differences between genomes. Heritability estimates facilitared the identification of traits with the greatest potential for genetic improvement, highlighting characteristics such as height, diameter, primary branching, grain and oil production. Through Tocher's method, it was possible to identify the characteristics of each individual and separate them into four groups. In conclusion the analysis of safflower genetic diversity paves the way for genetic improvement, by integrating molecular and morphoagronomic data, which provides a basis for the management of available accessions in terms of conducting breeding populations.