Abstract
Crop improvement for sustainable agriculture requires information about the genetic variability of traits that helps identify suitable parents. This study was conducted to investigate the extent of genetic diversity among 12 okra cultivars grown and marketed in Côte d’Ivoire, using 12 quantitative and 11 qualitative agro-morphological traits. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five replications and two multivariate techniques, viz. principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used. The okra cultivars evaluated showed wide variation in quantitative traits but minimal variation in qualitative traits except for leaf and fruit shapes. The first two PCs explained 70.489% variation and identify seven traits (day to flowering, stem diameter, plant height, number of fruit ridges, number of fruits per plant, fruit yield and number of seeds per fruit) that play a prominent role in the differentiation of the okra cultivars, and therefore could be used as good criteria for selection in okra improvement. PCA and CA grouped the total cultivars into three divergent clusters exhibiting specific characteristics: vigor and good yield for cluster I, short plants and earliness for cluster II and high yield for cluster III. The results of this investigation indicated that substantial variability was present in the okra studied. The cultivars of the divergent clusters constitute interesting okra genetic resources that can be used as a parental material for further breeding. Keywords: genetic diversity, okra, Abelmoschus caillei , Abelmoschus esculentus , principal component analysis, cluster analysis DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-22-03 Publication date: November 30 th 2020
Highlights
Okra is an important vegetable crop widely grown in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Syfullah et al 2018)
This observation implies that quantitative traits are more useful for studying genetic diversity of okra germplasm than qualitative traits, as reported by Omalsaad et al (2014)
The current study showed a high level of variations in 14 agromorphological traits among the 12 okra cultivars evaluated
Summary
Okra is an important vegetable crop widely grown in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Syfullah et al 2018). It is mainly cultivated for its tender immature fruits and fresh leaves used in many cuisines and preparations for human consumption (Oppong-Sekyere et al 2018). The two main cultivated okra, A. esculentus and A. caillei, are native of Asia and Africa, respectively (Adeoluwa & Kehinde 2011). The Asian species (A. esculentus) referred to as common okra is cultivated throughout the world and accounts for 95% of okra cultivated area globally; while the African okra (A. caillei) is primarily cultivated in Africa and accounts for 5% cultivated area (Ahiakpa et al 2017)
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