Morpho-agronomic performance and phenotypic diversity of adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) genotypes from Mindanao, Philippines

Adlay is an underutilised cereal crop with high nutritional value and potential for climate resilience; however, limited information on the variability of locally collected germplasm constrains its improvement and wider utilisation. This study evaluated the morpho-agronomic performance and phenotypic diversity of 15 adlay genotypes collected from Mindanao and grown under Musuan, Bukidnon conditions. Eighteen quantitative and one qualitative trait were assessed using a randomised complete block design with 3 replications. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among genotypes for key traits, including germination percentage, days to emergence, plant height, number of nodes, leaf width, 100-seed weight and grain yield. Grain yield ranged from 2621 to 4676 kg ha-1, with Tapol genotypes recording the highest values. Pearson correlation analysis showed that grain yield was strongly and positively associated with vegetative (r = 0.85) and productive tillers (r = 0.82), while negatively correlated with days to flowering (r = -0.70) and maturity (r = -0.73), indicating that earlier phenological development was associated with higher grain yield under the conditions of the study. The Standardised Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index (H′ = 0.75) indicated moderate diversity, particularly for yield-related and phenological traits. Principal component analysis revealed that vegetative traits and reproductive phenology were the major contributors to the observed multivariate variation. Overall, the evaluated genotypes exhibited substantial morpho-agronomic variation, with the Tapol genotypes showing promising grain yield in the present evaluation. Given the single-location, single-season design, however, these findings should be considered preliminary; multi-location and multi-season validation is needed to confirm genotype performance and trait associations.