EVALUATING GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PAKISTANI TURMERIC SELECTIONS THROUGH ANALYSIS OF CURCUMIN CONTENT, VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS, AND RHIZOME YIELD TRAITS IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN

Abstract

EVALUATING GENETIC DIVERSITY IN PAKISTANI TURMERIC SELECTIONS THROUGH ANALYSIS OF CURCUMIN CONTENT, VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS, AND RHIZOME YIELD TRAITS IN FAISALABAD, PAKISTAN

Turmeric (Curcuma longa), a member of the Zingiberaceae family, is a spice plant that has long been recognized for its medicinal properties. There is high genetic variation exists within the species of Curcuma longa, even though it is clonally propagated. The overall genetic diversity in Curcuma longa may be due to its population distribution in areas of diverse ecological conditions in Pakistan. Present study was performed to evaluate different turmeric selections, which were collected from five different locations viz., S₁ from Institute of Horticultural Sciences (IHS), University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF), Pakistan, S₂ and S₃ from Faisalabad (Jaranwala and Kanjwani, respectively) and S₄ and S₅ from Kasur (Tirath and Hussain Khan Wala, respectively), Punjab, Pakistan. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design and each treatment was replicated thrice. Among the selections, selection S₅ (Hussain Khan Wala) performed best for growth and yield traits, i.e. plant height (79.6 cm), number of tillers per plant (3.4), number of leaves per plant (17.7), leaf length (37.7 cm), leaf width (12.3 cm), stem diameter (16.1 mm), number of primary rhizomes per plant (6.3), number of secondary rhizomes per plant (11.1), total number of rhizomes per plant (18.4), weight of primary rhizomes (95.3 g per plant), weight of secondary rhizomes (94.3 g per plant), yield (213.1 g per plant), rhizome length (52.7 mm) and rhizome diameter (22.8 mm). However, curcumin content (0.79%), total dry matter (45.8%), moisture content (58.1%) and total soluble solids (12.0 ^oBrix) were highest in selections S₂ (Jaranwala), S₄ (Tirath), S₁ (IHS, UAF) and S₂ (Jaranwala), respectively. Therefore, it is recommended that turmeric selection S₅ (Hussain Khan Wala) may be cultivated for higher yield, while S₂ selection (Jaranwala) is for highest curcumin production.