Abstract
This study was carried out to assess the morphological and genetic variability of seven accessions of Abelmoschus L. species using morphometric analysis and ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large chain (RBCL) molecular markers. Using a completely randomized block design, seeds of the okra accessions were planted with three replicates each. During the developmental stage, the morphological features of the accessions were observed and recorded according to the standard descriptor for the crop. Morphologically, all the accessions exhibited a degree of similarities, albeit, at maturity, the leaf, plant height, leaf colour, and leaf shape became distinct. A cluster of the phenotypic characterization was observed at a 3.74 level of coefficient of similarity with two distinct clusters, which were predicted to be A. esculentus and A. caillei. The percentage variance of the two principal components was 55.12% and 22.69% with corresponding Eigenvalues of 4.11 and 1.69, respectively. Results of the RBCL analysis revealed genetic variability at a 0.80 level of coefficient of similarity. Two distinguishable clusters were observed. Both morphometric and genotyping results suggest that variations exist among and within the seven accessions. In conclusion, there is a need to frequently evaluate plant genetic resources held in gene banks as they may not reflect the whole range of diversity inherent in the species.
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