Variability among Okra Genotypes for Various Maturity Traits

Amina Yousaf, Susan Muhammad and Ahtesham Ul Hassan

1Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan 2Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Okra is a popular vegetable crop belonging to Malvaceae family and is also known as lady finger and ‘bhindi’ in Pakistan. It is known for its nutritional value and culinary versatility. These fifteen varieties seeds were sown in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in the experimental field of the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan. The row-to-row and plant-to-plant distances were maintained at 75 cm and 30 cm, respectively. Morphological traits such as plant height, young fruit diameter, mature fruit diameter, mature fruit length, number of fruits per plant and fruit diameter were recorded. Analysis of variance showed significant differences among all the genotypes under study. The results revealed that genotypes obtained from Vegetable Research Institute AARI, Faisalabad had the highest mean young fruit diameters among all the genotypes. Genotype collected from Grain Market (Jarawala) had the highest mean mature fruit length among all the genotypes. The genotype obtained from Vegetable Research Institute AARI, Faisalabad also had the highest mean number of fruits per plant and highest mean fruit weight as well. The collected data were statistically analyzed through ANOVA, HSD test, and mean graphs to determine and visualize the significance of genetic variation among genotypes. These findings provide valuable insights for okra breeders in identifying promising genotypes for future breeding programs.