Diversity of yam bean
The results of the dendrogram can be used to see the success of breeding in the form of clusters
(Khazaie et al., 2024; Reddy et al., 2025; Sharma et al., 2026). The genetic diversity of the initiation results ranges from 0% to 100%. In this study, the clustering was based on a diversity level of more than 80%. The results of the diversity analysis are presented as a cluster analysis. Based on morphological characteristics, the expected strain can be grouped into 7 clusters (Fig 1).
Fig 1 shows that the 6th generation expectation strain is divided into 7 clusters. Cluster A consists of 1 plant, Cluster B consists of 1 plant, Cluster C consists of 2 plants, Cluster D consists of 1 plant, Cluster E consists of 9 plants, Cluster F consists of 16 plants and Cluster G consists of 1 plant (
Abd-Elsam et al., 2025;
Akinyosoye, 2022;
Yousefi et al., 2024). The cluster A has a low number of leaves, moderate productivity, large tuber diameter and a tuber count of 1. Cluster B has a moderate number of leaves, high productivity, large tuber diameter and a tuber count of 1. Cluster C has a moderate number of leaves, high productivity, medium tuber diameter and a tuber count of 1. Cluster D has a high number of leaves, high productivity, medium tuber size and a tuber count of more than 1. Cluster E has a high number of leaves, low productivity, small tuber diameter and a tuber count of 1.Cluster F has a high number of leaves, high productivity, medium tuber size and a tuber count of more than 1. Cluster G has a low number of leaves, low productivity, large tuber diameter and a tuber count of 1. Higher diversity indicates a stronger relationship, so it has the potential to become a new strain
(Ibirinde et al., 2019). The main indicator in breeding is genetic changes
(Khazaie et al., 2024; Ramteke et al., 2024) to produce superior strains.
Morphological characteristics
The morphological characteristics of yam bean plants are evident in their growth, leaves, stems, flowers, seeds and tubers (Table 1). All yam bean plants assembled in the 6th generation exhibit creeping growth. The leaves of the yam bean plant have characteristics: rhombus shape, pointed tip, flat edge, hairy surface and green leaf colour (137 B). The appearance of yam bean leaves is all uniform and nothing is different. This is because the colour of the leaves is dominated by the presence of chlorophyll.
The yam bean stem has the following characteristics: a round stem shape, a light green stem colour (RHS 144A) and a light green petiole colour (RHS 144A). The pigment content of chlorophyll influences the colour of the yam bean stem. According to (
Nurchayati et al., 2019) colour differences are caused by variations in pigment content in the tissues that make up plant parts.
The flowers have the character of a medium raised crown, light green flower petal colour (144A), flower crown colour is the purple (RHS N77, N 80 and N 81), flower bud colour is the yellow (RHS 150-154), flower stylus colour is the yellow (154 D) and flower seed colour is the bright greenish yellow (RHS 151 D). The shape of yam bean seeds falls into the categories of round and elongated and the colour of the seeds includes yellowish green (146 A) (Table 2). The purple colour is caused by the accumulation of anthocyanin content
(Sharma et al., 2026). According to (
Nurchayati et al., 2019) colour differences are caused by variations in pigment content to plant parts. Yam bean flower as an indicator of reproductive capacity (
Czékus et al., 2025).
The yam bean tubers have a characteristic top with brown skin (RHS 163D), white flesh (RHS 153D) and a slightly sweet flesh. In addition, yams contain flavonoids and phenolic acids (
George et al., 2020).
Assessment of genomic character changes using morphological
(Rajiman et al., 2025; Silva et al., 2016). The morphological parameters of the plant, including stem, leaves, flowers, seeds and tubers, are essential for determining yam bean yield. This is because each strain/accession has a specific morphological character difference (
Baiyeri et al., 2022).
Agronomy character
Observation of agronomic character in yam bean are presented in Table 3. The 6
th-generation hopeful strain yam bean has highest total leaves in cluster E, the longest of length and width of the terminal leaves in cluster F, the highest number of terminal leaf angles in cluster F, the highest of formation of terminal leaf angles in cluster F, the highest terminal 1 petiole length in cluster B, the longest of length of the terminal 2 petiole in cluster F, the highest ratio of terminal 1 and terminal 2 petiole length in clusters A and B and the largest stem diameter in cluster G. The yam bean has the fastest flowering start life in cluster A, the longest flower crown length in cluster G, the widest size in cluster G the longest flower pistils in cluster C.
The yam bean have a single tuber, but some have more than 1 tuber, namely in clusters D and F. Yam bean tubers vary in weight, diameter and length. The yam bean tuber with the highest weight per tuber is cluster B, the highest planting tuber weight is cluster F, the longest tuber in cluster E, The highest tuber width in cluster B. The yam bean has the longest seed size in clusters D and F, the highest width in cluster D. This sixth-generation yam bean has the advantage of high productivity. This research finding aligns with
(Rajiman et al., 2025) that this yam bean has significantly higher productivity than the banyumas (920.89 kg/ha), kediri (808 kg/ha), madura (723 kg/ha) and padang strains (656 kg/ha).
Leaf, stem, tuber and seed formation are influenced by the plant’s ability to translocate photosynthesis results to leaves
(Widaryanto et al., 2018). Formation can be accelerated by environmental conditions
(Fatmawati et al., 2017). Organoleptically, the 6th generation of yam bean showed a slight increase in sweetness compared to the 5th generation. This condition indicates that there has been an improvement in the breeding of yam bean.