Characterization of Open-Pollinated Seedling Progenies of Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) based on Chromosome Number, Plant Morphology, Rhizome Yield and Rhizome Quality†

Abstract

Fourteen open-pollinated seedling progenies of a high yielding, released variety of turmeric, namely ‘IISR Kedaram’, have been characterized for chromosome number, plant morphology, fresh rhizome yield and rhizome quality, in comparison to the mother. The progenies showed significant variation from the mother variety with respect to chromosome number and most of the other characteristics studied. Chromosome number in the mother plant was 2n 63 while in the progenies it ranged from 2n 78 to 2n 84, the latter being the most frequent. For the morphological characteristics namely plant height, number of tillers, leaf length, leaf breadth, petiole length and internode length of primary rhizomes, several progenies excelled the mother. Five progenies produced a significantly higher fresh rhizome yield than the mother variety. Among the quality parameters studied, curcumin and oleoresin content was found to be lower in all the progenies while oil content was found to be slightly higher in 2 progenies compared to the mother. The role of triploid segregation in generating the variation among seedling progenies and the usefulness of the variation in the improvement of turmeric is discussed.