Vol. 7, Issue 2 (2019)
Genetic variability and divergence in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.]: A review
Author(s): Rajeev Dixit, Niraj Shukla and Deepika Chandrawanshi
Abstract: Okra is an important vegetable crop widely grown in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Tindall, 1983). Cultivated okra has significant variations in the chromosome numbers but most frequent observed chromosome number is 2n = 130 (Joshi and Hardas, 1956) and it belongs to the family Malvaceae. The centre of origin of okra remains unclear, but their centre of genetic diversity includes West Africa, India and Southern Asia (Hamon and Van Sloten, 1998). Okra is said to be very useful against genito-urinary disorders, spermatorrhoea and chronic dysentery (Nadkarni, 1927). Okra is an often cross pollinated crop, heterosis is being exploited in form of development of hybrids. Hence, genetic divergence is an important tool while selecting the parents for hybrid breeding. Divergence analysis is more authentic and powerful tool for systematic identification of the diverse genotypes for hybridization purposes (Mahalanobis, 1936). To develop high yielding varieties, genetic diversity is an important tool to select genetically diverse parents with high yield and wider adaptability in breeding programme. Progress of any breeding programmes depends to a great extent on the availability of genetic variability for desirable traits in genotypes (Kumar et al., 2013, Balai et al., 2014). Genetic diversity helps the breeders in deciding the most appropriate breeding method to increase the genetic potentialities as well as to surpass the yield barrier (Langade et al., 2013). Use of genetically diverse parents in recombination breeding supposed to give maximum heterosis in F1’s and also getting broad spectrum of variability for quantitative traits in segregating generations to select desirable recombinant. Therefore, genetic diversity is prerequisites for any successful breeding programme.
Pages: 1705-1710 | 517 Views 114 Downloads
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How to cite this article:
Rajeev Dixit, Niraj Shukla, Deepika Chandrawanshi. Genetic variability and divergence in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench.]: A review. Int J Chem Stud 2019;7(2):1705-1710.
