Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a crop of nutritional and economic importance worldwide, cultivated in more than 100 tropical and subtropical countries including Ecuador, where it is traditionally cultivated in the three continental regions: Amazonia, the Coast and in the valleys of the Sierra. The purpose of this study is to characterize 195 accessions from INIAP’s Ecuadorian cassava collection through (1) morphological characterization with qualitative and quantitative descriptors; and (2) ecogeographic characterization to know the climatic, geophysical, and edaphic conditions in which cassava grows and which environments are frequent or marginal for its cultivation. For the morphological characterization, 27 morphological descriptors were used (18 qualitative and nine quantitative), and for the ecogeographic characterization, 55 variables (41 climatic, two geophysical and 12 edaphic). Four morphological groups and three ecogeographic groups were identified. Morphological variability was evidenced mainly in descriptors related to the leaves, stems, and inflorescences. In addition, it was possible to identify accessions that appear capable of growing under extreme conditions of drought and poor soils. These accessions could be used for improvement.

中文翻译：

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厄瓜多尔木薯 (Manihot esculenta Crantz) 多样性的形态学和生态地理学研究

木薯（Manihot esculentaCrantz) 是一种在世界范围内具有重要营养和经济意义的作物，在包括厄瓜多尔在内的 100 多个热带和亚热带国家种植，传统上在三个大陆地区种植：亚马逊河、海岸和塞拉利昂山谷。本研究的目的是通过（1）具有定性和定量描述符的形态特征来表征来自 INIAP 厄瓜多尔木薯收集的 195 个种质；(2) 生态地理特征，以了解木薯生长的气候、地球物理和土壤条件，以及哪些环境对其种植频繁或边缘。对于形态特征，使用了 27 个形态描述符（18 个定性和 9 个定量），对于生态地理特征，使用了 55 个变量（41 个气候、2 个地球物理和 12 个土壤）。确定了四个形态组和三个生态地理组。形态变异性主要体现在与叶、茎和花序相关的描述符中。此外，还可以确定似乎能够在极端干旱和贫瘠土壤条件下生长的种质。这些种质可用于改进。