Study on genetic divergence, association between morphological traits and path analysis among different okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) genotypes

To identify genotypes with greater potentials for appreciable yield and yield related components from diverse genotypes of okra and donors for improved productivity, an experiment was conducted with 25 indigenous and 25 exotic collections of okra genotypes following randomized complete block design with three replications. The data of morphological characters were analysed using R studio software factoextra package and GENRES. The results revealed that, out of nine principal components PC1, PC2 and PC3 eigen values of 4.07, 1.64, 1.00 respectively for yield and yield attributing traits. Several exotic accessions viz., G36, G50, G37, G47, G35, along with few indigenous collections viz., G21 and G24 were closely associated with the yield and attributing traits. Identified genotypes viz., G36, G37, G35, G24 and G50 with higher number of nodes per plant, fruit yield per plant and fruit width showed higher potentials for improved yield and are thus recommended for further genetic resource enhancement approaches. According to the present study findings, the eigen values of the principal component within PCA signify the extent of variability observed in characteristics such as fruit weight, fruit length, number of fruits per plant, and number of nodes per plant, which exhibited significant contributions to dissimilarity, besides fruit yield per plant (Table 3). The traits, namely fruit weight, fruit length, and number of fruits per plant, are genuinely valuable for future breeding initiatives, given their strong correlation with fruit yield. Therefore, they can be deliberately selected for breeding in okra to achieve the desired objective of developing high-yielding genotypes from segregants. Among the various genotypes under scrutiny, it was determined that G21 (IC33248) displayed the most substantial variation in Dimension 1 and 2. It was concluded that genotypes such as G36(EC133336), G50(EC169344), G37(EC133412), G47(EC169341), G35(EC116383), and G24(IC33302) made significant contributions to both yield and traits associated with yield. Traits viz., fruit length, fruit weight and number of fruits per plant exhibited positive direct effect on fruit yield per plant and thus these traits could be helpful during the selection process.