Genetic diversity in taro ( Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) accessions using agro‐morphological traits and DArT SNP

Taro ( Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott) is one of the neglected root crops with great potential for ensuring food security. Nigerian taro genetic diversity has been rarely reported, particularly using single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. The objective of the present study was to determine the genetic diversity of taro accessions based on agro‐morphological traits and Diversity Arrays Technology sequence (DArTseq) SNP markers. Twenty‐five accessions collected from five states in Nigeria were used in the study. A field experiment was conducted at Ebonyi State University during the 2020 and 2021 cropping seasons using a 5 × 5 lattice design. Sequencing was performed at Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya. The results for qualitative traits showed significant ( p  < 0.05) differences among the accessions, with a mean Shannon–Weaver diversity index ( H ′) of 0.68. Most quantitative traits also showed significant differences among accessions. Genetic cluster analysis indicated the formation of two major clusters and confirmed the existence of variability among accessions. The polymorphic information content of markers ranged from 0.48 to 0.49. The taro population gene diversity/expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.24 to 0.26, while the observed heterozygosity (Ho) ranged from 0.42 to 0.45. Analysis of molecular variance revealed high genetic variation among individuals within populations (86.90%) but low genetic variation among populations (13.10%). Therefore, breeding strategies should focus on exploiting variation within populations rather than between them. The findings of this study provide a foundational resource for the conservation, management, and utilization of these genetic resources to develop improved taro cultivars in Nigeria and similar agroecologies.