ABSTRACT

 

The present investigation was conducted in the month of January to April, 2022 in Poothurai village of Villupuram district to assess, evaluate and identify the morphological variations in cluster bean accessions. One hundred and two genotypes, collected from different geographic locations of the country were utilised for the study. The cataloguing of qualitative and quantitative descriptors was done based on the Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability standards provided by PPV & FRA, 2001. Twenty-two descriptors with sub-groups were taken for the study. The qualitative trait includes; plant type, leaf pubescence, leaf serration, leaf shape, petiole length, terminal leaflet length, leaf color, flower color, immature pod color, seed shape and seed coat color. The quantitative trait comprises of plant height, number of primary branches, days to maturity, days to 50 % flowering, number of clusters per plant, number of pods per cluster, pod length, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, seed size and gum content. The genotypes were scored according to their characteristic feature in each of the sub-groups and their frequency of occurrence was recorded. The present study clearly indicates the utilization of DUS standards and their importance in conservation, maintenance and protection of accessions in order to ensure their use in development of novel varieties.

​

​

Keywords    Cluster bean, DUS, Descriptors, Qualitative, Quantitative.