Morphological Characterization and Diversity Studies of Okra Genotypes for Different Yield Contributing Traits

Muhammad Ramiz*1, Faiz Ur Rasool1, Sana Rania1, Muhammad Awais1 and Muhammad Abdullah1

1Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Abelmoschus esculentus (L) is an essential vegetable crop that belongs to the Malvaceae family. It is one of the important summer vegetables of Pakistan. Pakistan is far behind in production from many okra-producing countries. There is a need for a breeding program to increase its yield. The availability of genetic diversity in germplasm is necessary for a successful breeding program. The present study assessed the genetic variability among 40 okra genotypes obtained from the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. Analysis of variance, cluster analysis, and principle component analysis were employed to estimate genetic diversity. The experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design using two replications. Different yield-related parameters i.e. fruit length, fruit diameter, fruits per plant, fruit weight, plant height, internodal length, leaves per plant, stem diameter, fruiting habit, fruit pubescence, stem pubescence, and no. of ridges/fruit were measured by using the standard protocols. The analysis of variance demonstrated significant variation among genotypes based on the analyzed traits. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed genetic diversity among 40 okra genotypes. The first 3 PCs out of eight principal components displayed >1 eigenvalues and had maximum share to total variability. PC-I, II and III had share of 35.86%, 20.34%, and 13.0369% in total variability respectively. Among genotypes G19, G28, and G36 were proved to be good for most of the traits. This study shows that a great range of genetic diversity is present in assembled accessions which may be used in the breeding of high-yielding okra cultivars.