Extant Varieties Research Articles

The application of multi-criteria decision analysis in gaining a premier sort of stability in airplane safety

Improving the aeronautical safety has been of high importance for the experts. Different factors influence the static and dynamic stability of the plane. These factors play important roles in the plane safety. The static and dynamic safety include several factors. Taking all the technical criteria and elements into account, this article tries to find a suitable method for evaluating and eventually deciding on the best alternative. One of the methods of multi-criteria decision analysis is the concordance analysis (CA) which is an important way of evaluation in solving issues of different miscellaneous criteria that cannot be incorporated into one another. Also, Best-worst method (BWM), one of the most practical decision-making methods, is used in this article. Using the CA and BWMs and based on different criteria, this research prioritises the premier stability alternatives and uses them in the design and finally suggests a suitable alternative out of the influential linear and lateral ones. To do this, a combination of extant varieties including 15 criteria and three alternatives is used and the concordance and non-concordance collections and criteria are defined. The results showed that in addition to the fact that the use of both methods led to the same results; as a result, the linear, lateral and directional became the best options for aeroplane safety, respectively, for design purposes.

Protection of plant varieties

A group of people dwelling within a common territorial boundary having common ancestors and mores, believing in common morals, distinct of other similar groups which existed even before the concept of nation states is viewed as Tribe. More often the tribes and tribal are discussed with an attitude of holier than thou approach of regulating deforestations, tribal rights, ownership of tribal lands and what not but the question always persist; are we honest to ourselves when we argue on these. The tribal rights include ownership over both the land and the cherished biodiversity. The statutory provisions are in place for the protection of extant varieties of plants; those existing in the nature, whose ownership lies with the indigenous people which includes their beneficial usages which come as something which may be termed as traditional wisdom. The rapid deforestation is not only endangering the flora, diminishing the genome treasure and even bringing an end to the tribal. In this research paper an attempt is made to critically appreciate the statutory provisions related to the protection of extant varieties of plants and to find out the measures which may be taken for achieving the legislative intent.

Core Collections: Is There Any Value for Cotton Breeding?

Global plant breeding activities are reliant on the available genetic variation held in extant varieties and germplasm collections. Throughout the mid- to late 1900s, germplasm collecting efforts were prioritized for breeding programs to archive precious material before it disappeared and led to the development of the numerous large germplasm resources now available in different countries. In recent decades, however, the maintenance and particularly the expansion of these germplasm resources have come under threat, and there has been a significant decline in investment in further collecting expeditions, an increase in global biosecurity restrictions, and restrictions placed on the open exchange of some commercial germplasm between breeders. The large size of most genebank collections, as well as constraints surrounding the availability and reliability of accurate germplasm passport data and physical or genetic characterization of the accessions in collections, limits germplasm utilization by plant breeders. To overcome these constraints, core collections, defined as a representative subset of the total germplasm collection, have gained popularity. Core collections aim to increase germplasm utilization by containing highly characterized germplasm that attempts to capture the majority of the variation in a whole collection. With the recent availability of many new genetic tools, the potential to unlock the value of these resources can now be realized. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) cotton breeding program supplies 100% of the cotton cultivars grown in Australia. The program is reliant on the use of plant genetic resources for the development of improved cotton varieties to address emerging challenges in pest and disease resistance as well as the global changes occurring in the climate. Currently, the CSIRO germplasm collection is actively maintained but underutilized by plant breeders. This review presents an overview of the Australian cotton germplasm resources and discusses the appropriateness of a core collection for cotton breeding programs.

A comparison of aleurone cells in centenarian African and contemporary barley seeds to identify the geographic origin

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the main domesticated cereals. For this reason, barley seeds have been found in numerous archaeological sites, and since the mid-19th century have been available in numerous natural museum collections. About a hundred years ago samples were collected in the African countries of Eritrea and Cyrenaica (now Libya), and have been preserved as ex-situ in the museum collection “L’Orientale” of the University of Naples. The varieties of contemporary barley selected for comparative analysis were grown in Tuscany and are used in the production of craft beer. To ascertain their vitality, the ancient and contemporary seeds were placed in Petri dishes to hydrate under a sterile hood at room temperature after a sterilization procedure. Morphological and ultrastructural observations performed on the aleurone cells of the ancient samples presented vital cells. The extraction and purification of DNA from seeds produced results while the genotype comparison of ancient and contemporary barley varieties enabled the construction of a dendrogram of similarity, useful in describing barley from museum genetic heritage collections and in providing a molecular imprint of extant varieties.

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act of India

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmer's Rights Act, 2001 (PPVFR Act 2001) was enacted by India as a part of sui generis system. The Act has 11 chapters and 97 clauses. For a variety to be eligible for registration, it must conform to the criteria of novelty, distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (NDUS) under Section 15 of the act. After the variety had been registered the breeder or the farmer had the right to produce, to sell, to market, to distribute, to import and to export the variety. The period of protection is eighteen years in the case of trees and vines and fifteen years in the case of extant varieties. It also provides equitable benefit sharing. Thus the Indian PVPFR Act provides a balance between plant breeders’ rights along with farmers’ rights and researchers’ rights and thus appears to be an effective sui generis system.

Domestication and varietal diversification of Old World cultivated cottons (Gossypium sp.) in the Antiquity

Textile use of the cotton fibres from the Old World species Gossypium arboreum (Tree Cotton) and G. herbaceum (Levant Cotton) started around eight thousand years ago and possibly earlier. During the third millennium before the present, cotton cultivation, textile use and trading developed strongly in many places of the Indian Subcontinent and the Near East, but the species involved are often undetermined. Gossypium arboreum and G. herbaceum are difficult to distinguish morphologically when dealing with archaeological remains. Many traditional varieties have been described for each of these two species; an evolution is apparent from perennial, rather primitive forms through to annual varieties and modern phenotypes, with adaptations to cultivation in diverse conditions, including cold climates and short summers. The present work examines which varieties could have been cultivated in the Antiquity and in which regions had cotton cultivation spread then. Some extant varieties are hypothesized as close to the cultivars of Antiquity. The geographic distribution of each species probably reflects the initial domestication region and the subsequent adaptations, particularly regarding climate. Recent progress on ancient DNA analysis should permit easier specific assignments of archaeological remains of cotton seeds, fibres, threads or fabrics.

Remarks on the Mossin Theorem

We establish several new results regarding the Mossin Theorem under both nonrandom initial wealth and random initial wealth. For the nonrandom initial wealth case, we show that the Mossin Theorem holds for any constrained class of insurance contracts whose maximum coverage provides full coverage of the potential loss. This result not only settles an open conjecture, but also provides a unified treatment for extant varieties of the Mossin Theorem. For the random initial wealth case, we give a thorough study of the upper-limit insurance. In particular, we show that (1) for a fair premium, the Generalized Mossin Theorem for coinsurance does not hold for upper-limit insurance, and (2) for an unfair premium, partial insurance will always be optimal, regardless of the risk preference of the individual and the dependence structure between the random loss and the random initial wealth.

From ontic structural realism to metaphysical coherentism

The present paper argues that the typical structuralist claims according to which invariances, symmetries and the like are fundamental – especially in physics – should not be understood in terms of physical relations being fundamental. Rather, they should be understood in terms of ‘metaphysical coherentism’ - the idea that object-like parts of reality exhibit symmetric relations of ontological dependence. The view is developed in some detail, in particular by showing that i) symmetric ontological dependence does not necessarily lead to uninformative metaphysical explanations, and ii) metaphysical coherentism strikes the best balance between the requirements of naturalism and those of theoretical consistency – especially in view of the difficulties that structuralists seem to have in accounting for all state-independent properties of particles in relational terms. On this basis, the coherentist picture is applied to the interpretation of the quantum domain, and contrasted with extant varieties of structuralism, of both the eliminative and the non-eliminative sort, and holism.

Effect of storage period on special DUS characters in extant varieties of rice (Oryza sativa) for establishing distinctiveness

Under the PPV and FR Act 2001, a number of rice varieties have been registered based on morphological and biochemical DUS descriptors. In the present study, 61 extant varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) were characterized based on 55 morphological descriptors at different stages of plant growth. However, for the assessment of biochemical characters, namely; phenol reaction of lemma, amylose content and gelatinization temperature, the assessment is based on ripened seed onwards, and even after the seed is stored. Hence, there is a need to determine optimum period after seed ripening for recording biochemical characters to avoid confusion during grouping of varieties for establishing distinctiveness. For this, all the 61 varieties were examined to see the effect of storage period on biochemical characters. The observations were recorded beginning from freshly harvested seed (0 months) vis-Ã -vis stored seed up to one year (12 months). The data were recorded after every three months up to a period of one year. Results revealed that significant changes begin to occur during six months of storage and continue for remaining period. Phenol reaction of lemma colour in 26 varieties showed significant changes in colour intensity after six months of storage. Gelatinization temperature (GT) and amylose content are important cooking quality traits for rice. Among 61 varieties, 26 showed increase in Gelatinization temperature after six months of storage as ASV decreased from 6.7 to 6.0, while the remaining varieties showed constant ASV. Further, the average percentage of amylose content significantly increased after six months of storage period in all varieties. Hence, storage period significantly influences the character expression of biochemical traits. Therefore, it is recommended that the varieties should be evaluated for the biochemical assessment within six months of harvesting.

The New MNE: ‘Orchestration’ Theory as Envelope of ‘Internalisation’ Theory

We propose an orchestration theory of the (new) MNE as an envelope of internalisation theory and its variants. We first critically assess extant varieties of internalisation theory of the MNE. We then discuss their limitations and explain why it is important to move from internalisation to an orchestration theory of the MNE. Orchestration theory, rooted in and encompassing the dynamic capabilities framework, helps explain a number of MNE phenomena that challenge internalisation theory, including entrepreneurship, learning, co-opetition, open innovation, value capture and market and ecosystem co-creation. It entails much more than the make-or-buy decision of internalisation theory and it is more closely aligned to today’s global environment, conceptual developments in cognate fields and the strategies and practices of MNEs. We also discuss prospects for further research using an orchestration approach.

Principal Component Analysis with Quantitative Traits in Extant Cotton Varieties (Gossypium Hirsutum L.) and Parental Lines for Diversity

The experimental material consisted of 101 extant varieties and parental lines characterized for morphological traits under Distinctiveness Uniformity and Stability (DUS) testing at CICR, Regional Station, Coimbatore, India. Twenty one quantitative traits were taken for observation. The data were utilised to estimate substantial variation and relationship within the extant varieties and to identify the best performing genotypes. Analysis of variance for quantitative traits, in diverse line, showed sizable amount of variability. The highest variation was found for vigour index, plant height, germination per cent, fibre maturity, yield per plant, plant stand, fibre uniformity and ginning per cent when mean performance genotypes were considered. Seed cotton yield showed significantly positive correlation with boll number plant-1 (0.95), boll weight-1 (0.53), lint weight (0.50), fibre length (0.27), plant growth habit (0.26), plant height (0.23) and seed index (0.21). Principal component analysis showed the extend of variation by components 1 to 8 that exhibited Eigen value >1. Cluster analysis based on various morphological traits assorted 101 extant varieties of cotton into three main clusters. Dendrogram arrived based on hierarchal clustering, grouped genotypes based on their morphological traits rather than the geography of origin.

Comparative Reconstruction of Proto-Mojeño and the Diversification of Mojeño Dialects

This paper addresses nine open issues in the historical phonology of Mojeño, an Arawakan language of Bolivia. We propose solutions to these problems by postulating reconstructed forms for Proto-Mojeño based on a comparison of the two extant varieties of the language, Ignaciano and Trinitario, and on 17th century sources on Old Mojeño. Contrarily to a recent claim, we argue that the contrast between *n and *ɲ can be straightforwardly reconstructed for Proto-Mojeño. We suggest that the marginally contrastive opposition between s and ʃ in Ignaciano derives from sound symbolism. We argue for a contrast between *a and *o in Proto-Mojeño that was later lost in Ignaciano. We reconstruct the accentual system of Proto-Mojeño, as a basis for explaining diachronic rhythmic syncope in Trinitario. Syncope of vowels in weak metrical positions accounts for the emergence of consonant clusters and morphophonological alternations in Trinitario. Besides, hiatus resolution has led to the phonologization of the consonant /c/, while the vowel /ə͡e / emerged from a process of monophthongization. Indirect consequences of Trinitario rhythmic syncope are the phonologization of the consonant /ç/, consonant loss and the development of phonological vowel length. An appendix presents 190 Proto-Mojeño reconstructions and cognate sets.

Sacred Water and Water-Dwelling Serpents: What Can Yuman Oral Tradition Tell Us about Yuman Prehistory?

Sacred Water and Water-Dwelling Serpents:What Can Yuman Oral Tradition Tell Us about Yuman Prehistory? Margaret Field (bio) This paper brings a multi-disciplinary approach to bear on a consideration of motifs related to water as sacred in Yuman oral tradition, including the association of water with heaven, as well as the great ocean-dwelling serpent of the Delta-California and some River branches of Yuman, and various serpentine guardians of local water resources. As an anthropological linguist involved in documentating the languages and literature of Yuman groups in Baja California, who also teaches various courses in American Indian Studies, an inherently multi-disciplinary field, I draw on evidence from Yuman oral tradition, historical linguistics, rock art iconography, and archaeological work in support of the hypothesis that Yuman peoples brought these water-dwelling serpent deities with them when they migrated north and east out of their homeland in Baja California several thousand years ago. As discussed by Mathiowetz (2011), bringing together observations from multiple disciplines is crucial for understanding the history of nonliterate cultures: In nonliterate societies, conceptual metaphors and more poetic forms of expression are ... embedded in a number of forms including speech, ritual, prayers, sacred narratives, and in the production, form, and use of artifacts ... the study of metaphor in texts, language, material culture, and art gives archaeologists and art historians the theoretical tools to engage in an approach rooted in the humanities for interpreting and reconstructing the cultural meaning of archaeological and ethnographic material culture, artifacts, and symbolism.... Discerning shared metaphors in the material culture and symbolism essentially allows one to map the movement of ideas upon the landscape through time. (2011:12) [End Page 2] Yuman Prehistory: Archaeological and Linguistic Perspectives Yuman prehistory is not well understood and a debate still exists in the anthropological literature today concerning the location of the Yuman homeland and the length of time that contemporary Yuman speech communities have been in their current locations (McGuire & Schiffer 1982, Laylander 1985, 2010, Mixco 2006). Archaeological evidence tells us that people have been living in the area now inhabited by Yuman peoples in Baja and Alta California (see fig. 1) for about 10,000 years (Moratto 1984). We know very little about the earliest inhabitants of the area, called the "San Dieguito" people, except that they hunted big game and depended largely on shellfish. In this regard they appear not to have been that different from the later La Jolla complex who occupied the area after them from 8,000 to 1,000 years ago. These same cultures also lived in Baja California, where shell middens on the coast date to 9,000 years ago (Moore 2006). Archaeologists believe that these early peoples spread out from the coast into the desert and to the Colorado River area beginning about 3000 BC1 (Rogers 1945, Irwin-Williams 1979, Schroeder 1979). Whether these early migrants into the Southwest share identity with Yuman peoples, however, continues to be a topic of much debate among archaeologists. The linguistic evidence indicates that Yuman peoples emigrated out of Baja California (where the most diversity in the Yuman language family is found) and began diversifying into the three main branches of the Yuman language family—River Yuman, Upland Yuman (or Pai), and Delta-California Yuman—between 4000 and 2000 BC (Foster 1996). The fact that Baja California is the place where the most divergent languages in the family are found, including Cocopa, Kumeyaay, Ko'alh, and the most divergent extant variety, Kiliwa, in addition to Yuman's sister-family of Cochimian languages (which are now extinct), indicates that Baja is likely the Yuman homeland, from a linguistic perspective. Attention to the degree of geographically centered linguistic diversity in a language family allows historical linguists to postulate the location of initial divergence, with this early divergence subsequently leading to maximal diversity in and around the original homeland (Hale & Harris 1979, Foster 1996, Wichmann et al. 2012). The Yuman language family belongs to the Hokan language stock, one of the oldest in California, dating to at least 8000 BC and probably [End Page 3] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. quite a bit...

Some Remarks on Mossin's Theorem

We establish several new results regarding the Mossin Theorem under both non-random initial wealth and random initial wealth. For the non-random initial wealth case, we show that the Mossin Theorem holds for any constrained class of insurance contracts whose maximum coverage provides full coverage of the potential loss. This result not only settles an open conjecture, but also provides a unified treatment for extant varieties of the Mossin Theorem. For the random initial wealth case, we give a thorough study of the upper-limit insurance. In particular, we show that (i) for a fair premium, the Generalized Mossin Theorem for coinsurance, does not hold for upper-limit insurance, and (ii) for an unfair premium, partial insurance will always be optimal, regardless of the risk preference of the individual and the dependence structure between the random loss and the random initial wealth.

Molecular Evolution of Spider Vision: New Opportunities, Familiar Players.

Spiders are among the world's most species-rich animal lineages, and their visual systems are likewise highly diverse. These modular visual systems, composed of four pairs of image-forming "camera" eyes, have taken on a huge variety of forms, exhibiting variation in eye size, eye placement, image resolution, and field of view, as well as sensitivity to color, polarization, light levels, and motion cues. However, despite this conspicuous diversity, our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of these visual systems remains shallow. Here, we review the current literature, analyze publicly available transcriptomic data, and discuss hypotheses about the origins and development of spider eyes. Our efforts highlight that there are many new things to discover from spider eyes, and yet these opportunities are set against a backdrop of deep homology with other arthropod lineages. For example, many (but not all) of the genes that appear important for early eye development in spiders are familiar players known from the developmental networks of other model systems (e.g., Drosophila). Similarly, our analyses of opsins and related phototransduction genes suggest that spider photoreceptors employ many of the same genes and molecular mechanisms known from other arthropods, with a hypothesized ancestral spider set of four visual and four nonvisual opsins. This deep homology provides a number of useful footholds into new work on spider vision and the molecular basis of its extant variety. We therefore discuss what some of these first steps might be in the hopes of convincing others to join us in studying the vision of these fascinating creatures.

Assessment of genetic variability and correlation analysis of seed and seed cotton yield attributing traits of tetraploid cotton genotypes (G. hirsutum L.)

The nature and magnitude of genetic divergence, variability and correlation were estimated in 110 extant varieties of cotton using Mahalanobis D 2 statistics by considering 20 quantitative characters to reveal a considerable amount of diversity in the material. The genotypes were grouped into ten clusters. Cluster I constituted a maximum number of accessions (80). The genotypes falling in cluster VIII (32.329) had the maximum divergence, which was closely followed by cluster IX (28.032), cluster X (23.674) and cluster I (15.717). The inter cluster distance was maximum between cluster VIII and IX (45.242) suggesting that the genotypes representing these clusters may be used as parents for future crop improvement programme. Traits like yield per plant, number of bolls per plant, sympodial length, number of sympodia per plant, dry matter of seedlings and plant height were the major contributors for genetic divergence. ANOVA revealed the presence of considerable amount of variability among the genotypes. High estimates of the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) and phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) were observed for yield per plant, number of bolls per plant, sympodial length, number of sympodia per plant, dry matter of seedlings and plant height. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance as per cent of mean was recorded for yield per plant, number of bolls per plant, dry matter of seedlings, sympodial length, number of sympodia per plant, plant height, speed of germination, shoot length, boll weight per plant, vigour index and fibre fineness. In correlation analysis, seed cotton yield was significant and positively correlated with number of bolls per plant followed by boll weight, plant height, seed index and fibre length. Hence, selections based on the above characters will result in genotypes with high seed cotton yield.

Phenotypic divergence for agro-morphological traits among extant rice (Oryza sativa) varieties

The genetic divergence of 61 extant varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.) was assessed by using principal component analysis (PCA). The variables considered in the multivariate analyses were morphological, phenological and grain traits. The correlation analysis revealed that a number of traits were directly associated with other traits regardless of plant type or architectural configuration of the whole plant. The first four components in the PC analysis with Eigen values >1 contributed 74.25% of the variability among genotypes evaluated. Across various PCs, each of the accessions contributed both vegetatively and reproductively and in some cases only one-sidedly, either reproductively or vegetatively. The study grouped the genotypes into seven clusters. Cluster I had maximum number of genotypes (17). The cluster VII had second highest number of genotypes (12), while cluster II, III, IV, V, VI contained nine, four, six, five and eight genotypes, respectively. The overall composition of the clustering pattern showed that genotypes collected from the same geographic origin were distributed in different clusters. A critical appraisal of the observations suggested that none of the clusters contained genotypes with all the desirable traits, which could be directly selected and utilized. Hence, depending on the per se performance of the best genotypes within the clusters, they may be directly used for adaptation or maybe used as parents in future breeding programs.

The<i> Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2001 </i>(In) and New Plant Varieties, Extant Varieties and Farmerss Varieties: A New Form of Property?

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2001 (In) provides for the protection of new plant varieties, extant varieties and farmers’ varieties. This article reviews the form and scope of these variety rights compared to existing international intellectual property standards for new plant varieties to demonstrate a significant evolution in the conception of a property right. The article asserts that the form of the new plant variety, extant variety and farmers’ variety rights establish a de facto permanent property right by requiring applicants to declare lawful acquisition and document plant material histories. While for extant varieties and farmers’ varieties this might provide some guidance about the form and content of the presently uncertain Farmers’ Rights and Traditional Knowledge, the article concludes that for new plant varieties this orders the public domain so that future breeders, evolvers and developers may not have unrestricted access and use to breed, evolve and develop new plant varieties.

Influence of seed characteristics on seedling vigour parameters in rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties

Seeds of 61 extant rice varieties raised during kharif seasons of 2013 and 2014 were subjected to various seed quality tests; so to evaluate the intra-and inter-varietal correlation of seed length, width and weight to various parameters of plant and seedling vigour; and to determine the relative contribution of the seed traits to seedling vigour. The study revealed that seed length was positively correlated with leaf area of seedling and plant height thereby indicating that longer seed will produce long and deep penetrating seedling with larger leaf area. Hence, if length is to be criteria for vigour, then endosperm weight is more critical to seedling growth, since it was observed that seed length was highly correlated to endosperm weight as compared to embryo weight. Seed width was positively correlated with high germination percentage and plant height, thus emphasizing that small to medium-sized seed produced better germination and seedling vigour than those of bigger ones. Seed weight was significantly correlated with most of the seedling vigour characteristics examined under present study. Within single cultivars, the long, wide and heavy seed produced the tallest plants, had largest leaf area and heaviest seedling. There were not many differences in seedling growth between medium and low level of the seed traits studied. Selecting for heavy, long and wide seed within cultivars will, therefore, produce vigorous seedling taken as dry weight or as leaf area or as plant height. Thus, it was indicated in the present study that seed length and width could be used as selection traits for vigorous seedling between varieties. Hence, long seed with broader width can be a promising indicator of leaf area and plant height.

DUS characterization of muskmelon (Cucumis melo) varieties

The present study was carried out for morphological characterization of twelve reference varieties of muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) collected from ICAR institutes and SAUs to validate DUS testing guidelines using plant descriptors adopted from the DUS guidelines of PPV and FRA. Among 34 morphological characters studied, 19 were visually assessed and 15 were measured. The fruit shape in longitudinal section was expressed as ovate (MHY 5), elongated globe (Arka Rajhans), oblate (GMM 3, Kashi Madhu) and obovate (Durgapura Madhu). The rind colour of fruit have been grouped as yellow (Kashi Madhu), yellow green (Durgapura Madhu) and orange (Arka Jeet). The sutures on fruit surface were found to be absent in Arka Jeet, MHY 3 and present in Hara Madhu, Kashi Madhu varieties. With respect to netting on fruit surface the varieties have been grouped as absent of netting (Arka Jeet, MHY 5) and moderate netting (RM 50, Punjab Sunehri). The flesh colour was expressed as creamish white (Arka Jeet), grey orange (GMM 3), yellowish green (Durgapura Madhu), green (Hara Madhu) and orange (Kashi Madhu). Under results, no intra-varietal variation was observed for any of the visual characteristics examined. Further, the expression of characters in different varieties remained same for the three consecutive years confirming the uniformity and stability of the varieties for visual characteristics. The varieties were grouped into different categories for each character based on 34 descriptors which may be used as reference varieties. Identified 6 traits as grouping traits, viz. sex expression (at full flowering), fruit shape in longitudinal section, rind colour of fruit, sutures on rind, surface netting of fruit and fruit flesh colour. The morphological characterization of extant varieties was completed to establish distinctness of the candidate variety from all other varieties to utilize these varieties as reference material for protection of other varieties under PPV&FR Act.