Abstract

Indigenous leafy vegetables (ILVs) are an underutilized source of minerals and vitamins in sub-South Africa. However, they could play a huge role in addressing household food insecurity and malnutrition. Corchorus is a highly nutritious but underutilized ILV, which is consumed by some rural communities in Africa. This study was thus undertaken to evaluate the nutritional composition and determine the genetic parameters of mineral nutrient traits of 11 Corchorus accessions for potential use in future crop improvement programme. The Corchorus genotypes were grown in a field experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications over two growing seasons at the Agricultural Research Council, in Roodeplaat, South Africa. Fresh leaves were collected just before flowering, washed in de-ionised water and air-dried before analysis. The mineral nutrients phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), boron (B), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) were analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Data were subjected to ANOVA, principal component analysis and cluster analysis. Genetic parameters were determined for all the traits. The analysis of variance indicated the significant (P<0.05) variation in mineral nutrient content among the accessions. The study also revealed the presence of two singletons (AV006 and SA002), as well as the presence of additive genes for several mineral nutrients. The variation among the accessions was deemed sufficient enough to allow for use of the accessions in a breeding programme.