RAPD ANALYSIS OF CULTIVATED AND WILD YELLOW NUTSEDGE (CYPERUS-ESCULENTUS L.)

Cultivated and weedy clones of yellow nutsedge were analyzed using ran dom amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers to assess the polymorphis m within the species and determine if this approach was suitable for i dentification of cultivar and wild populations. The RAPD markers unamb iguously identified all studied clones. Nei-Li similarities were compu ted and used in an unweighted pair group method using arithmetic avera ge (UPGMA) cluster analyses. Cultivated and weedy clones were clustere d in two groups, but two cultivated clones were more closely related t o weedy clones than to cultivated clones. The results showed a high le vel of genetic variability among the clones tested, particularly among the cultivated ones. Identification of yellow nutsedge cultivars and analysis of genetic diversity within and among weedy populations is po ssible by using only a small number of primers. In this study, seven s elected primers discriminated among the 10 tested clones.