ISOENZYMATIC CHARACTERIZATION OF ELEPHANT GRASS (PENNISETUM-PURPUREUM SCHUM.) GERMPLASM

Leaf acid phosphatase and esterases of 58 accessions of Pennisetum purpureum Schum were compared by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A total of 15 alpha and beta-esterase polymorphic bands and 13 acid phosphatase bands were detected, all but one being polymorphic. Electrophoresis proved to be an efficient method to characterize elephant grass germplasm, since accessions could be separated into 23 groups. Despite morphological differences, no intracultivar variation was found in the electrophoretic patterns. In some cases accessions which bear the same cultivar name, obtained from different places, presented differences, probably due to varietal mixture.