Morphological characterization and variability of leaves, peduncles, inflorescences and fruits in Abaca (Musa textilis Née) cultivars from Aklan, Philippines

Morphological characterization of plants is fundamental for plant identification and breeding programs. Abaca (Musa textilis Née) is endemic to the Philippines and belongs to the Musaceae family. Five locally described cultivars-Bisaya, Tabukanon, Agbayanon, Negro and Totoo-are widely used by farmers in Aklan. Detailed morphological data on these cultivars are limited and lack extensive studies, necessitating further research for crop development. This study describes and compares the morphological characteristics of five Abaca cultivars' leaves, peduncles, inflorescences and fruits. A mixed research methodology and field survey were conducted to compare the morphological characteristics across the eight leading Abaca-producing municipalities in Aklan. A linear mixed-effects model (LMM) was employed to account for the variability of the data and handle an unbalanced design where some cultivars are not present in specific locations. The fixed effect of variety was tested using ANOVA derived from the LMM to assess significant differences, followed by Tukey’s HSD method at a 5% level. Results showed that Totoo and Agbayanon had larger leaf morphology while all cultivars exceeded Tabukanon, which had the shortest leaf. Inflorescence morphology varied across abaca cultivars, indicating genetic diversity, which is useful for cultivar differentiation. In peduncle morphology, differences were very significant among all cultivars, Agbayanon shows a greater number of nodes with fruits, Totoo shows a greater number of fruits per node and Negro shows longer fruits, that could be cultivated for seed?production. Such information provides relevant policies that could benefit breeders, researchers, farmers and other users to identify and maximize the crop's potential.