Biochemical variation in turmeric (Curcuma longa Linn.) accessions based on isozyme polymorphism

Abstract

Fifteen accessions of Curcuma longa L. collected from different geographical areas in India, along with a few seedling progenies, were studied for variation based on isozyme polymorphism. A high degree of variability (63.8-96% similarity) was seen in the population studied. Phenetic analyses revealed several groups with interesting features. Two seedling progenies, which showed maximum similarity, stood distinctly from the clonally propagated material. Other pairs of accessions showing high similarity (above 90%), were from the same geographical area, indicating that accessions collected based on vernacular names and those collected from adjoining areas, need not be genetically distinct