Characterization study based on the morphology of various okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.] genotypes

Morphological characterization of any crop’s available germplasm based on qualitative traits is an effective tool in identifying their characteristics, which is helpful in the future breeding programme as qualitative traits are relatively more stable than the quantitative ones. This type of study helps in determining distinctiveness, uniformity and stability of a particular genotype under different agroclimatic conditions. The present investigation aims at the morphological characterization of twenty-six selected genotypes of okra including a standard check Arka Anamika for selection of desired cultivars from the evaluated ones. For the external morphological characterization analysis, the selected germplasms were grown in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) experimental design and the data for 22 qualitative traits was taken from 5 plants of each replication. A good amount of variation was observed, among the different traits under study, green leaf colour between veins, yellow flower petal colour and erect fruit position depicted 100% frequency and higher frequencies were also observed for erect plant growth habit (96.15%), green stem colour (96.15%), serration of margin of leaf blade (96.15%), round seed shape (88.46%), narrow acute fruit shape at the apex (84.61%) and medium branching habit (73.07%). The study suggested that genotypes like VL Bhindi-2, Parbhani Kranti, Agri Bahar, Hisar Naveen, Hisar Unnat, Pusa Sawani and Varsha Uphar were the genotypes that exhibited a wide range of variations and after some testing can be exploited for the further breeding programme.