Morphological Characterization of Okra (Abelmoschus sp. L.) Germplasm in Ghana | Chapter 12 | Research and Development in Agricultural Sciences Vol. 2
Twenty five accessions of okra
collected in Ghana were evaluated for phenotypic identity, diversity and
quality based on morphological characters. Qualitative and quantitative
characteristics were measured and scored as specified by the standard international
crop descriptor for okra. A dendrogram was generated for morphological data
based on the simple matching coefficient, and four cluster groups were
observed. The distribution of the accessions into the groups, based on the
morphological traits had no unique geographical relationship. The results of
the matrix of similarity among the 25 accessions performed by NTsys pc
programme placed two accessions in a tie, suggesting that, they were identical.
Eight accessions were placed at above 80% similarity, meaning that, the
accession pairs were closely related, and three accessions were 50% similar,
which means they matched at half the characters measured. Six pairs of
accessions measured were somewhat diverse, which can be exploited by plant
breeders for further improvement. The genetic affinity between the accessions
from different regions and ethnic groups could however be due to the selection
and exchange of okra between farmers from different regions and ethnic groups.
Distinct morphotypes exist in the Ghanaian okra germplasm, depicted by
variation in petal colour, pubescence of the leaf and stem, fruit shape,
anthocyanin pigmentation and number of days to 50% flowering.
Author(s) Details
D. Oppong-Sekyere, PhD
Department of Ecological
Agriculture, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, P.O.Box 767, Bolgatanga, U/E-R, Ghana.
Prof. R. Akromah
Department of Crop and Soil
Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Dr. E. Y. Nyamah
University of Cape Coast
Business School, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Dr. E. Brenya
Western Sydney University,
Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE), Sydney, Australia.
Dr. S. Yeboah
CSIR - Crops Research
Institute, Fumesua, Kumasi, Ghana.
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