ResearchArticle Variability Assessment of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) Genotypes Based on Their Qualitative Traits Nesru Temam , 1 Wassu Mohammed, 2 and Shimelis Aklilu 3 1 Crop and Horticulture Directorate, Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2 School of Plant Science, Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia 3 Melkassa Agricultural Research Center of Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Correspondence should be addressed to Nesru Temam; [email protected] Received 2 November 2020; Revised 15 December 2020; Accepted 2 January 2021; Published 15 January 2021 Academic Editor: Isabel Marques Copyright © 2021 Nesru Temam et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. e present study was conducted on okra (Abelmoschusesculentus (L.) Moench) genotypes collected from Benishangul Regional State of Western Ethiopia. e objective of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of okra within a regional state based on qualitative traits at Melkassa Research Center during the rainy season of 2019. e results showed that the okra genotypes collected from the regional state had a wide variation in growth habits, leaf, fruit, flower, and seed in their qualitative traits, namely, shape, color, and other quality factors like pubescence which is a determinant factor in consumer preference. erefore, the result of this study is an indicator for the presence of a higher chance to develop okra varieties highly preferred by domestic and foreign markets through selection/crossing of okra genotype collected from Benishangul Gumuz regional state; as an example, accession 29622 had a smooth texture of fruit with green fruit color which is preferable by consumers. However, the genotypes showed greater variability for plant branching habits that has its effect mainly related to contamination of branches and fruits by soilborne microorganisms and the soil itself during irrigating fields. Finally, it is better if molecular characterization is to be followed by the current morphological characterization and evaluation work. 1. Introduction Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) belongs to the family Malvaceae and it is a very important vegetable crop grown in tropical and subtropical parts of the world [1]. Okra is proposed to be originated in Tropical Africa and it is native to North Eastern Africa in the area of Ethiopia and Sudan from where it extensively spread to Asia, America, Southern Europe, and other countries [2, 3]. It is self-pol- linated, mainly propagated by seeds with a duration of 3 to 4 months [4, 5]. It has a considerable area under cultivation in Africa and Asia in particular because of its contribution to the human diet by supplying fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Its mucilage is suitable for medicinal and various industrial applications [6–9]. e unripe green finger-like seed capsule of okra, usually called “pod,” is processed and consumed as stews and salads, soups, sliced, boiled, and fried vegetables [10, 11]. e fruits contain effortlessly digestible fiber, fat-free contents, and low calories [12, 13]. Okra typically differs from most other common vegetables in having high mucilage content [14]. e seed is used as a coffee additive or substitute [15]. Okra is a traditional crop in southwestern, western, and northwestern Ethiopia [16]. e crop is cultivated from landraces over the years in the country [17]. Recently in 2016, the first improved variety (Bamia Humera) has been recommended for cultivation [18]. However, currently, the few studies conducted indicated that the country is rich for the diversity of the crop [16, 17, 19–23] based on quantitative traits which is a good opportunity to improve the crop through characterization and evaluation of the available germplasm in the country. Geographic distances and en- vironmental differences are the two major causes of genetic diversity among plant populations [24, 25]. Evolutionary forces like selection, mutation, migration, and genetic drift Hindawi International Journal of Agronomy Volume 2021, Article ID 6678561, 6 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6678561
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Research ArticleVariability Assessment of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench) Genotypes Based on Their Qualitative Traits
Nesru Temam 1 Wassu Mohammed2 and Shimelis Aklilu3
1Crop and Horticulture Directorate Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute Addis Ababa Ethiopia2School of Plant Science Haramaya University Haramaya Ethiopia3Melkassa Agricultural Research Center of Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Correspondence should be addressed to Nesru Temam nesrutemam25gmailcom
Received 2 November 2020 Revised 15 December 2020 Accepted 2 January 2021 Published 15 January 2021
Academic Editor Isabel Marques
Copyright copy 2021 Nesru Temam et al(is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited
(e present study was conducted on okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) genotypes collected from Benishangul RegionalState of Western Ethiopia (e objective of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of okra within a regional state based onqualitative traits atMelkassa Research Center during the rainy season of 2019(e results showed that the okra genotypes collectedfrom the regional state had a wide variation in growth habits leaf fruit flower and seed in their qualitative traits namely shapecolor and other quality factors like pubescence which is a determinant factor in consumer preference (erefore the result of thisstudy is an indicator for the presence of a higher chance to develop okra varieties highly preferred by domestic and foreignmarketsthrough selectioncrossing of okra genotype collected from Benishangul Gumuz regional state as an example accession 29622had a smooth texture of fruit with green fruit color which is preferable by consumers However the genotypes showed greatervariability for plant branching habits that has its effect mainly related to contamination of branches and fruits by soilbornemicroorganisms and the soil itself during irrigating fields Finally it is better if molecular characterization is to be followed by thecurrent morphological characterization and evaluation work
1 Introduction
Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) belongs to thefamily Malvaceae and it is a very important vegetable cropgrown in tropical and subtropical parts of the world [1]Okra is proposed to be originated in Tropical Africa and it isnative to North Eastern Africa in the area of Ethiopia andSudan from where it extensively spread to Asia AmericaSouthern Europe and other countries [2 3] It is self-pol-linated mainly propagated by seeds with a duration of 3 to 4months [4 5]
It has a considerable area under cultivation in Africa andAsia in particular because of its contribution to the humandiet by supplying fats proteins carbohydrates minerals andvitamins Its mucilage is suitable for medicinal and variousindustrial applications [6ndash9] (e unripe green finger-likeseed capsule of okra usually called ldquopodrdquo is processed andconsumed as stews and salads soups sliced boiled and fried
vegetables [10 11] (e fruits contain effortlessly digestiblefiber fat-free contents and low calories [12 13] Okratypically differs from most other common vegetables inhaving high mucilage content [14] (e seed is used as acoffee additive or substitute [15]
Okra is a traditional crop in southwestern western andnorthwestern Ethiopia [16] (e crop is cultivated fromlandraces over the years in the country [17] Recently in2016 the first improved variety (Bamia Humera) has beenrecommended for cultivation [18] However currently thefew studies conducted indicated that the country is rich forthe diversity of the crop [16 17 19ndash23] based on quantitativetraits which is a good opportunity to improve the cropthrough characterization and evaluation of the availablegermplasm in the country Geographic distances and en-vironmental differences are the two major causes of geneticdiversity among plant populations [24 25] Evolutionaryforces like selection mutation migration and genetic drift
HindawiInternational Journal of AgronomyVolume 2021 Article ID 6678561 6 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520216678561
are the basis of crop genetic diversity [26] (ere may be alsodifferences in data registration because descriptors tend tobe highly subjective [27]
(e collection of desirable plant germplasm relies on theproven accession features and genetic divergence which areessential in genetic resource utilization [28ndash30] In this regardmorphological characterization involves both the quantitativeand qualitative traitsrsquo performance of plants under studyProgress and gain from the selection in any breeding programdepend upon the magnitude of useful variability present inthe population and the degree to which the desired traits areheritable (e morphological variation observed in thesestudies is indicative of differences in the genetic makeup ofgermplasm Although few of these studies reported that someof the traits are highly heritable and could be used in theselection process during improvement programs furtherstudies are required to exploit our genetic resources Yieldincrement only is not enough in crop improvement unless thequality of produce is considered [17] (erefore it is man-datory to consider qualitative traits like shape color textureand others during the study (e okra genotypes collectedfrom different regions and countries may be distributed intovaried categories of plant habit stem color and plantalignment and the proportion of genotypes in each categorymay vary due to either inherent characteristic differences andenvironmental differences where the genotypes grow or se-lection of different genotypes by a human being
In Ethiopia despite a wide variability recorded for podyield among the genotypes of different geographic locationsthe qualitative traits of genotypes are not studied as wellMoreover among current experimental materials 24 ge-notypes are new collections (erefore it is imperative tostudy the variability among the collected accessions Hencethe objective of the study was to assess the degree of vari-ability and their qualitative characters among the okracollection with the ultimate goal of providing input for okravariety improvement and its conservation in the country
2 Materials and Methods
21 Description of Study Area (e study was conducted atMelkassa Agriculture Research Center (MARC) Ethiopia inthe 2019 main rainy season Malkasa is located at 8024primeNlatitude and 39021primeE by having a distance of around 112KMfrom Addis Abeba in the Eastern direction at an altitude of1550masl(e area is characterized by low and erratic rainfallwith a mean annual rainfall of 763mm with peaks in July andAugust (e dominant soil type of the center is andosol ofvolcanic origin with pH that ranges from 7 to 82 (e meanannual temperature is 2120C with a minimum of 140C and amaximum of 2840C [31] (httpwwweiargovetmarc)
22 Experimental Materials and Design A total of 36 ge-notypes were evaluated of which 33 okra genotypes werecollected from different areas of Benishangul Gumuz Re-gional State of Ethiopian by the Ethiopian BiodiversityInstitute and two of the varieties were introduced from Indiaand now registered as a commercial variety in Ethiopia by
one company and one variety is released from Humeraresearch center (e okra genotypes were collected at dif-ferent altitudes ranging from 661 to 1518masl (e threeregistered varieties will be used as the standard checksGenotypes were evaluated on the field in 6times 6 simple latticedesigns Each plot had 08mtimes 54m (432m2) consisting ofone row and a total of 12 plants per row or plot (e spacingbetween plant plots and adjacent replications was 045 08and 2m respectively (ree seeds were sown and thinned toone plant per hill when plants reached the 4ndash5 leaves stage
23 Data Collections International Plant Genetic ResourcesInstitutersquos [32] descriptor list and published documents forokra species were used to record data on qualitative traitsQualitative traits were recorded per row basis and fiverandomly selected tender fruits from each harvest in eachplot were used to record tender fruit-related traits
231 Plant Habit and Stem Related Traits Plant habit andstem color were measured on a row basis properly
232 Leaf- and Flower-Related Traits Leaf color leaf petiolecolor leaf pubescence and leaf shape were recorded duringthe booting stage whereas flower color was recorded duringflower opening
233 Fruit-Related Trait and Seed Shape of OkraImmature fruit color and position of fruit on the main stemwere recorded on the field whereas fruit pubescence natureof fruit base the shape of a fruit and shape of seed were alsoat the laboratory
24 Data Analysis Shannon Waver Diversity Index is acommonly used diversity index that takes into account boththe abundance and evenness of species or a character presentin the community It is explained by the following formula
Hprime minus 1113944NiN
1113874 1113875lowast InNiN
1113874 1113875 (1)
where Hrsquo is the Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index expressedas eHrsquo andN is the number of observationdescriptor states inthe ith descriptors divided by the total number of charac-terized plants
3 Results and Discussion
31 Qualitative Traits of Okra Genotypes
311 Plant Habit and Stem-Related Traits A total of 18(50) 14 (3889) and 4 (1111) genotypes had a planthabit of the densely branched base densely branched allover and densely branched at the apex respectively Allgenotypes under study showed erect growth habits and alarge proportion of 26 (7222) okra genotypes had greenwith a red patch stem color while 7 (1944) and 3 (833)genotypes had red or purple and green stem colors re-spectively (Figure 1) (is indicated that the okra genotypes
2 International Journal of Agronomy
were distributed into three categories of each trait though 50to 7222 genotypes were grouped in one of the categories ofeach trait (e okra genotypes collected from different re-gions and countries may be distributed into varied categoriesof plant habit stem color and plant alignment and theproportion of genotypes in each category may vary due toeither inherent characteristic differences and environmentaldifferences where the genotypes are grown or selection ofgenotype differences by a human being Evolutionary forceslike selection mutation migration and genetic drift are thebasis of crop genetic diversity [26] (ere may be also dif-ferences in data registration because descriptors tend to behighly subjective [27]
Tripath et al [33] reported that the stem of the okraplant is robust erect and variable in branching and variesfrom 05 to 40 meters in height and the stem is pigmentedwith green or reddish tinged color Muluken et al [21]reported that densely branched base (DBB) characterswere 92 in frequency were densely branched overalland had nonbranched growth habit of 4 for each Besidesother authors Oppong-sekyere et al [34] Tesfa and Yosef[17] and Wassu et al [22] reported that the growth habitand degree of branching of okra germplasm are highlyvariable About 59 of accessions are erect type while247 and 164 of accession are characterized by me-dium growth and procumbent type of growth alignmentrespectively (e stem of okra was 32 24 and 44showing green green with red patches and redpurplecolor respectively Also they reported that most okragenotypes are densely branched at base characters fol-lowed by densely branched overall and branched at theapex
312 Leaf- and Flower-Related Traits of Okra (e testedgenotypes had great variations for leaf-related qualitativetraits namely leaf color leaf petiole color leaf pubes-cence and shape of a leaf (Figure 2) Out of 36 genotypes22 (6111) and 14 (3889) genotypes showed greenwith red veins and green leaf color respectively (e leafpetiole of 36 genotypes was observed as red above butgreen below 27 (75) and red on both sides 9 (25)
among evaluated genotypes (e leaf pubescence traitsobserved among 36 genotypes were as follows 31(8611) had slight leaf pubescence 3 (833) had gla-brous leaf pubescence and 2 (556) had conspicuousleaf pubescence (e study also revealed five distinct leafshapes 11 (3056) were heart-shaped 10 (2778) werebroadly ovate 10 (2778) were palmately lobed with aserrated margin 3 (833) were star-shaped and 2(556) were with palmately triangular lobes Similarresults were reported by Wassu et al [22] stating thatamong 25 okra genotypes 60 showed green with redvein and 40 had green leaf colors Tesfa and Yosef [17]reported three distinct leaf colors namely green with redveins (265) green color (603) and red color (132)Besides they also reported that 671 had slight leafpubescence 192 had glabrous leaf pubescence and137 had conspicuous leaf pubescence among 50 testedgenotypes Muluken et al [21] reported that genotypesshow that 48 were heart-shaped 28 were broadlyovate-shaped 16 were star-shaped and 8 were pal-mately lobed with a serrated margin of leaf shape
All okra genotypes show flower color with red color onboth sides except one genotype which shows red color insideonly A similar result was reported by Muluken et al [21]where all okra genotypes showed uniform red flower color atboth sides Wassu et al [22] also reported that 22 (88) andthree (12) okra genotypes had flowers with red color atboth sides and red color inside only respectively
313 Fruit-Related Trait and Seed Shape of Okra Genotypes(e current research reveals the presence of variationamong tested genotypes for immature fruit color theposition of fruit on the main stem fruit shape fruitpubescence and nature of fruit base (Figure 3) (eimmature fruit color of 20 (5556) genotypes was greenwith a red patch 15 (4167) had green color and 1(278) had yellow-green color All genotypes had slightfruit pubescence except one genotype which had an ir-ritating character at harvest unless we used gloves duringharvest In addition to this 25 (6944) 10 (2778) and1(278) genotypes show erect intermediate and
0
5
10
15
20
Denselybranched at
the apex(DBA)
Denselybranched
base(DBB)
Denselybranched
overall(DBO)
(a)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Green Green withred patches
Red orPurple
(b)
Figure 1 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of plant habit (a) and stem color (b) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 3
horizontal fruit positions on the main stem respectively(e genotypes had three different fruit base natures ofwhich 25 (6944) 6 (1667) and 5 (1389) are ringedprotrude ringless (flat) and sunken fruit base respec-tively Fruit shape showed the greatest diversity among theokra accessions from shape scores 1 2 3 and 4 as 41671389 1667 and 2778 respectively according to fruitshape score (Supplementary Figure 1) (is result showsthe presence of variation among genotypes studied whichmay be due to the distribution of genotypes and an en-vironmental difference that indicates the possibility ofimproving fruit qualitative traits through the selectionandor crossing of genotypes from the regional state
Muluken et al [21] observed that 72 and 28 of ge-notypes had green and yellow-green immature fruit colorrespectively and 68 and 32 of genotypes had an erect andintermediate position of fruit on the main stem respectively
Tesfa and Yosef [17] also reported that 561 had yellowish-green immature fruit color 258 were green 121 weregreen with red 3 were dark green and 3 had dark redimmature fruit colors (ey also identify fruit pubescence asfollows 296 were down 352 were slightly rough and352 were prickly Adeoluwa and Kehinde [29] reportedthat 60 had an erect fruit position and 40 had a hori-zontal fruit position on themain stem and 56 had a smoothfruit pubescence and 44 had a rough fruit pubescence(ey also reported three distinct fruit colors of green(4285) purple (4857) and green-yellow (857)
(e genotypes showed three seed shapes 4 (1111)had reniform (kidney) shape and 16 (4444) had roundand spherical shapes each Oppeng et al [34] reported thatamong genotypes 24 40 and 36 showed roundspherical (oval) and kidney (reniform) seed shapesrespectively
0
10
20
30
40
Green with redveins
Totally green Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
0
10
20
30
40
Red above andgreen below
Red on bothsides
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
0
10
20
30
40
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Conspicious Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
0
10
20
30
40
Red on bothsides
Red coloronly on one
side
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
Heartshaped
Broadlyovate
Starshaped
Palmatelytriangular
lobes
Palmatelylobed
with serratedmargin
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
Figure 2(e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of leaf color (a) leaf petiole color (b) leaf pubescence (c) flower color(d) and shape of a leaf (e) evaluated at [31]
4 International Journal of Agronomy
4 Conclusion
(e present study concluded that the okra genotypes collectedfrom the regional state had a wide variation for leaf fruitflower and seed shape color and other quality factors likepubescence which is a determinant factor in preference of theconsumer(erefore the result of this study is an indicator forthe presence of a higher chance to develop okra varieties highlypreferred by domestic and foreign markets through selectioncrossing of okra genotype collected from Benishangul Gumuzregional state as an example accession 29622 had a smoothtexture of fruit with green fruit color which is preferable byconsumers However the genotypes showed greater variabilityfor plant branching habits that has its effect mainly related tocontamination of branches and fruits by soilborne microor-ganisms and the soil itself during irrigating fields
Data Availability
(e raw data are included in the supplementary files andadditional information are available from the correspondingauthor upon request
Conflicts of Interest
(e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
(e authors appreciate the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institutefor financial support and Melkassa Agricultural ResearchCenter for the provision of experiment land
Supplementary Materials
Table S1 list and description of okra genotypes Table 1 the13 qualitative traits of 36 okra genotypes evaluated atMelkassa in 2019 Table S2 description and score of qual-itative traits of okra Figure S1 fruit shape score [32](Supplementary Materials)
References
[1] D S Kisher K Arya K J Yogeesh K Y Vinod and K Hee-Jong ldquoGenotypic variation among okra (Abelmoschus
0
10
20
30
40
Green withred patches
Green Yellowgreen
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
05
10152025303540
Erect Intermediate Horizontal Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
05
10152025303540
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
05
10152025303540
Ringedprotrude
Ringless(flat)
Sunken base Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
1 2 3 4 Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
05
10152025303540
Round Spherical(oval)
Kidney(reniform)
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(f )
Figure 3 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of immature fruit color (a) position of fruit on the stem (b) fruitpubescence (c) nature of fruit base (d) fruit shape (e) and shape of seed (f) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 5
esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Germplasms in South Indian PlantBreeding and Biotechnology vol 4 no 2 pp 234ndash241 2016
[2] O J Oyelade B I O Ade-Omowaye and V F AdeomildquoInfluence of variety on protein fat contents and somephysical characteristics of okra seedsrdquo Journal of Food En-gineering vol 57 no 2 pp 111ndash114 2003
[3] B M Santos P J Dittmar S M Olson S E Webb andS Zhang Okra Production in Florida pp 163ndash171 Universityof Florida IFAS Extension Gainesville FL USA 2012
[4] R S Muhammad A Muhammad Z KhurramM J Muhammad A Saeed and I Qumer ldquoGrowth yield andseed production of okra as influenced by different growthregulatorsrdquo Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science vol 50no 3 pp 387ndash392 2013
[5] M E Osawaru M C Ogwu and J Omologbe ldquoCharacter-ization of three Okra [Ablemoschus esculentus (L)] accessionsusing morphology and SDS-PAGE for the basis of conser-vationrdquo Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological SciencesH Botany vol 5 no 1 pp 55ndash65 2014
[6] W J Lamont ldquoOkra-A versatile vegetable croprdquo HortTech-nology vol 9 no 2 pp 179ndash184 1999
[7] FAOSTAT (2004) (httpfaoorg)[8] M Saifullah and M G Rabbani ldquoEvaluation and charac-
terization of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L Moench)cultivarsrdquo SAARC Journal of Agriculture vol 7 no 1pp 92ndash99 2009
[9] S Haruna B S Aliyu and A Bala ldquoPlant gum exudates(Karau) and mucilages their biological sources propertiesuses and potential applications a reviewrdquo Bayero Journal ofPure and Applied Sciences vol 9 no 2 pp 159ndash165 2016
[10] W B Akanbi A O Togun J A Adediran andE A O Ilupeju ldquoGrowth dry matter and fruit yield com-ponents of okra under organic and inorganic sources ofnutrientsrdquo American-eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agri-culture vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2010
[11] F O Daniela M Alicia R C Alicia H Rodolfo andZ V Sonia ldquoQuality attributes of okra (Abelmoschus escu-lentus (L) Moench) pods as affected by cultivar and fruit sizerdquoJournal of Food Research vol 1 no 4 pp 224ndash235 2012
[12] P S Kumar and S Sreeparvathy ldquoStudies on heterosis in okra(Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Electronic Journal ofPlant Breeding vol 1 no 6 pp 1431ndash1433 2010
[13] M T Reddy K H Babu M Ganesh H BegumR S K Reddy and J D Babu ldquoExploitation of hybrid vigorfor yield and its components in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus(L) Moench]rdquo American Journal of Agricultural Science andTechnology vol 1 pp 1ndash17 2013
[14] V A Jideani and B M Bello ldquoFunctional properties of okraprotein products containing different levels of mucilagerdquoJournal of Food Agriculture amp Environment vol 7 no 2pp 252ndash255 2009
[15] T Moekchantuk and P Kumar Export Okra Production in6ailand Vol 56 Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations Bangkok (ailand 2004
[16] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoMultivariate analysisamong okra (abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) collectionin south western Ethiopiardquo Journal of Plant Sciences vol 9no 2 pp 43ndash50 2014a
[17] T Binalfew and A Yosef ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abel-moschus esculentus (L) Moench) germplasms collected fromwestern Ethiopiardquo International Journal of Research in Ag-riculture and Forestry vol 3 no 2 pp 11ndash17 2016
[18] MoANR Crop Variety Registers Issue No 19 p 211 MoANRAddis Abeba Ethiopia 2016
[19] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoVariability and as-sociation of quantitative characters among okra (abelmoschusesculentus (L) Moench) collection in south western Ethio-piardquo Journal of Biological Sciences vol 14 no 5 pp 336ndash3422014b
[20] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoGenetic diversityof Ethiopian okra collections through multivariate analysis atwerer rift valley of Ethiopiardquo 6e International Journal OfScience and Technolodge vol 3 no 8 pp 186ndash193 2015
[21] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoVariabilityheritability and genetic advance in Ethiopian okra [Abel-moschus esculentus (L) monech] collections for tender fruityield and other agro-morphological traitsrsquordquo Journal of AppliedLife Sciences International vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash12 2016
[22] W Mohammed Anteneh Bekele and V Kumar ldquoCharac-terization and evaluation of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] collections in eastern Ethiopiardquo in Proceedings of34th Annual review workshop Haramaya University Har-amaya Ethopia April 2017
[23] N Temam ldquoCorrelation and path coefficent analysis of podyield and related traits of okra [abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] genotypes evaluated at Melkassa centeral EthiopiardquoInternational Journal of Engineering Research and Technologyvol 9 no 8 pp 792ndash801 2020
[24] M Slatkin ldquoGene flow and the geographic structure of naturalpopulationsrdquo Science vol 236 no 4803 pp 787ndash792 1987
[25] P Nosil L J Harmon and O Seehausen ldquoEcological ex-planations for (incomplete) speciationrdquo Trends in Ecology ampEvolution vol 24 no 3 pp 145ndash156 2009
[26] H R Bhandari A N Bhanu K Srivastava and M N SinghldquoAssessments of genetic diversity in crop plants-An over-viewrdquo Advance Plant vol 76 2017
[27] S Hammon and D H Van Stolen ldquoCharacterization andevaluation of okrardquo6e Use of Plant Genetic Resource vol 27pp 173-174 1989
[28] G Olaoye O B Bello L S Olayiwola and A Y AbubakarldquoAnalyses of moisture deficit grain yield loss in droughttolerant maize (Zea mays L) germplasm accessions and itsrelationship with field performancerdquo African Journal ofBiotechnology vol 8 no 14 p 3229‒3238 2009
[29] O AdeOluwa and O Kehinde ldquoGenetic variability studies inwest african okra (abelmoschus caillei)rdquo Agriculture andBiology Journal of North America vol 2 no 10 pp 1326ndash1335 2011
[30] B O Bashir and D Aminu ldquoGenetic relationships amongokra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) cultivars inNigeriardquo Acta Agriculturae Slovenica vol 109 no 2pp 251ndash260 2017
[31] Melkassa Agricultural Research Center ldquoHome page datasrdquo2019 httpwwweiargovetmarc
[32] IPGRI ldquoOkra descriptor listrdquo International Crop NetworkSeries 5 International Board for Plant Genetic Resources(IBPGR) Rome Italy 1991
[33] K K Tripathi O P Govila W Ranjini and A Vibha BiologyOf Okra [Abelmoschus Esculentus (L)Moench]Serious OfCrop Specific Biology Document p 22 Ministry of Environ-ment and forests government of India and department ofbiotechnology ministry of science and technology govern-ment of India New Delhi India 2011
[34] D Oppong-Sekyere R Akromah E Y Nyamah E Brenyaand S Yeboah ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abelmoschus sppL) germplasm based on morphological characters in GhanardquoJournal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science vol 3 no 13pp 367ndash378 2011
6 International Journal of Agronomy
are the basis of crop genetic diversity [26] (ere may be alsodifferences in data registration because descriptors tend tobe highly subjective [27]
(e collection of desirable plant germplasm relies on theproven accession features and genetic divergence which areessential in genetic resource utilization [28ndash30] In this regardmorphological characterization involves both the quantitativeand qualitative traitsrsquo performance of plants under studyProgress and gain from the selection in any breeding programdepend upon the magnitude of useful variability present inthe population and the degree to which the desired traits areheritable (e morphological variation observed in thesestudies is indicative of differences in the genetic makeup ofgermplasm Although few of these studies reported that someof the traits are highly heritable and could be used in theselection process during improvement programs furtherstudies are required to exploit our genetic resources Yieldincrement only is not enough in crop improvement unless thequality of produce is considered [17] (erefore it is man-datory to consider qualitative traits like shape color textureand others during the study (e okra genotypes collectedfrom different regions and countries may be distributed intovaried categories of plant habit stem color and plantalignment and the proportion of genotypes in each categorymay vary due to either inherent characteristic differences andenvironmental differences where the genotypes grow or se-lection of different genotypes by a human being
In Ethiopia despite a wide variability recorded for podyield among the genotypes of different geographic locationsthe qualitative traits of genotypes are not studied as wellMoreover among current experimental materials 24 ge-notypes are new collections (erefore it is imperative tostudy the variability among the collected accessions Hencethe objective of the study was to assess the degree of vari-ability and their qualitative characters among the okracollection with the ultimate goal of providing input for okravariety improvement and its conservation in the country
2 Materials and Methods
21 Description of Study Area (e study was conducted atMelkassa Agriculture Research Center (MARC) Ethiopia inthe 2019 main rainy season Malkasa is located at 8024primeNlatitude and 39021primeE by having a distance of around 112KMfrom Addis Abeba in the Eastern direction at an altitude of1550masl(e area is characterized by low and erratic rainfallwith a mean annual rainfall of 763mm with peaks in July andAugust (e dominant soil type of the center is andosol ofvolcanic origin with pH that ranges from 7 to 82 (e meanannual temperature is 2120C with a minimum of 140C and amaximum of 2840C [31] (httpwwweiargovetmarc)
22 Experimental Materials and Design A total of 36 ge-notypes were evaluated of which 33 okra genotypes werecollected from different areas of Benishangul Gumuz Re-gional State of Ethiopian by the Ethiopian BiodiversityInstitute and two of the varieties were introduced from Indiaand now registered as a commercial variety in Ethiopia by
one company and one variety is released from Humeraresearch center (e okra genotypes were collected at dif-ferent altitudes ranging from 661 to 1518masl (e threeregistered varieties will be used as the standard checksGenotypes were evaluated on the field in 6times 6 simple latticedesigns Each plot had 08mtimes 54m (432m2) consisting ofone row and a total of 12 plants per row or plot (e spacingbetween plant plots and adjacent replications was 045 08and 2m respectively (ree seeds were sown and thinned toone plant per hill when plants reached the 4ndash5 leaves stage
23 Data Collections International Plant Genetic ResourcesInstitutersquos [32] descriptor list and published documents forokra species were used to record data on qualitative traitsQualitative traits were recorded per row basis and fiverandomly selected tender fruits from each harvest in eachplot were used to record tender fruit-related traits
231 Plant Habit and Stem Related Traits Plant habit andstem color were measured on a row basis properly
232 Leaf- and Flower-Related Traits Leaf color leaf petiolecolor leaf pubescence and leaf shape were recorded duringthe booting stage whereas flower color was recorded duringflower opening
233 Fruit-Related Trait and Seed Shape of OkraImmature fruit color and position of fruit on the main stemwere recorded on the field whereas fruit pubescence natureof fruit base the shape of a fruit and shape of seed were alsoat the laboratory
24 Data Analysis Shannon Waver Diversity Index is acommonly used diversity index that takes into account boththe abundance and evenness of species or a character presentin the community It is explained by the following formula
Hprime minus 1113944NiN
1113874 1113875lowast InNiN
1113874 1113875 (1)
where Hrsquo is the Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index expressedas eHrsquo andN is the number of observationdescriptor states inthe ith descriptors divided by the total number of charac-terized plants
3 Results and Discussion
31 Qualitative Traits of Okra Genotypes
311 Plant Habit and Stem-Related Traits A total of 18(50) 14 (3889) and 4 (1111) genotypes had a planthabit of the densely branched base densely branched allover and densely branched at the apex respectively Allgenotypes under study showed erect growth habits and alarge proportion of 26 (7222) okra genotypes had greenwith a red patch stem color while 7 (1944) and 3 (833)genotypes had red or purple and green stem colors re-spectively (Figure 1) (is indicated that the okra genotypes
2 International Journal of Agronomy
were distributed into three categories of each trait though 50to 7222 genotypes were grouped in one of the categories ofeach trait (e okra genotypes collected from different re-gions and countries may be distributed into varied categoriesof plant habit stem color and plant alignment and theproportion of genotypes in each category may vary due toeither inherent characteristic differences and environmentaldifferences where the genotypes are grown or selection ofgenotype differences by a human being Evolutionary forceslike selection mutation migration and genetic drift are thebasis of crop genetic diversity [26] (ere may be also dif-ferences in data registration because descriptors tend to behighly subjective [27]
Tripath et al [33] reported that the stem of the okraplant is robust erect and variable in branching and variesfrom 05 to 40 meters in height and the stem is pigmentedwith green or reddish tinged color Muluken et al [21]reported that densely branched base (DBB) characterswere 92 in frequency were densely branched overalland had nonbranched growth habit of 4 for each Besidesother authors Oppong-sekyere et al [34] Tesfa and Yosef[17] and Wassu et al [22] reported that the growth habitand degree of branching of okra germplasm are highlyvariable About 59 of accessions are erect type while247 and 164 of accession are characterized by me-dium growth and procumbent type of growth alignmentrespectively (e stem of okra was 32 24 and 44showing green green with red patches and redpurplecolor respectively Also they reported that most okragenotypes are densely branched at base characters fol-lowed by densely branched overall and branched at theapex
312 Leaf- and Flower-Related Traits of Okra (e testedgenotypes had great variations for leaf-related qualitativetraits namely leaf color leaf petiole color leaf pubes-cence and shape of a leaf (Figure 2) Out of 36 genotypes22 (6111) and 14 (3889) genotypes showed greenwith red veins and green leaf color respectively (e leafpetiole of 36 genotypes was observed as red above butgreen below 27 (75) and red on both sides 9 (25)
among evaluated genotypes (e leaf pubescence traitsobserved among 36 genotypes were as follows 31(8611) had slight leaf pubescence 3 (833) had gla-brous leaf pubescence and 2 (556) had conspicuousleaf pubescence (e study also revealed five distinct leafshapes 11 (3056) were heart-shaped 10 (2778) werebroadly ovate 10 (2778) were palmately lobed with aserrated margin 3 (833) were star-shaped and 2(556) were with palmately triangular lobes Similarresults were reported by Wassu et al [22] stating thatamong 25 okra genotypes 60 showed green with redvein and 40 had green leaf colors Tesfa and Yosef [17]reported three distinct leaf colors namely green with redveins (265) green color (603) and red color (132)Besides they also reported that 671 had slight leafpubescence 192 had glabrous leaf pubescence and137 had conspicuous leaf pubescence among 50 testedgenotypes Muluken et al [21] reported that genotypesshow that 48 were heart-shaped 28 were broadlyovate-shaped 16 were star-shaped and 8 were pal-mately lobed with a serrated margin of leaf shape
All okra genotypes show flower color with red color onboth sides except one genotype which shows red color insideonly A similar result was reported by Muluken et al [21]where all okra genotypes showed uniform red flower color atboth sides Wassu et al [22] also reported that 22 (88) andthree (12) okra genotypes had flowers with red color atboth sides and red color inside only respectively
313 Fruit-Related Trait and Seed Shape of Okra Genotypes(e current research reveals the presence of variationamong tested genotypes for immature fruit color theposition of fruit on the main stem fruit shape fruitpubescence and nature of fruit base (Figure 3) (eimmature fruit color of 20 (5556) genotypes was greenwith a red patch 15 (4167) had green color and 1(278) had yellow-green color All genotypes had slightfruit pubescence except one genotype which had an ir-ritating character at harvest unless we used gloves duringharvest In addition to this 25 (6944) 10 (2778) and1(278) genotypes show erect intermediate and
0
5
10
15
20
Denselybranched at
the apex(DBA)
Denselybranched
base(DBB)
Denselybranched
overall(DBO)
(a)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Green Green withred patches
Red orPurple
(b)
Figure 1 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of plant habit (a) and stem color (b) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 3
horizontal fruit positions on the main stem respectively(e genotypes had three different fruit base natures ofwhich 25 (6944) 6 (1667) and 5 (1389) are ringedprotrude ringless (flat) and sunken fruit base respec-tively Fruit shape showed the greatest diversity among theokra accessions from shape scores 1 2 3 and 4 as 41671389 1667 and 2778 respectively according to fruitshape score (Supplementary Figure 1) (is result showsthe presence of variation among genotypes studied whichmay be due to the distribution of genotypes and an en-vironmental difference that indicates the possibility ofimproving fruit qualitative traits through the selectionandor crossing of genotypes from the regional state
Muluken et al [21] observed that 72 and 28 of ge-notypes had green and yellow-green immature fruit colorrespectively and 68 and 32 of genotypes had an erect andintermediate position of fruit on the main stem respectively
Tesfa and Yosef [17] also reported that 561 had yellowish-green immature fruit color 258 were green 121 weregreen with red 3 were dark green and 3 had dark redimmature fruit colors (ey also identify fruit pubescence asfollows 296 were down 352 were slightly rough and352 were prickly Adeoluwa and Kehinde [29] reportedthat 60 had an erect fruit position and 40 had a hori-zontal fruit position on themain stem and 56 had a smoothfruit pubescence and 44 had a rough fruit pubescence(ey also reported three distinct fruit colors of green(4285) purple (4857) and green-yellow (857)
(e genotypes showed three seed shapes 4 (1111)had reniform (kidney) shape and 16 (4444) had roundand spherical shapes each Oppeng et al [34] reported thatamong genotypes 24 40 and 36 showed roundspherical (oval) and kidney (reniform) seed shapesrespectively
0
10
20
30
40
Green with redveins
Totally green Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
0
10
20
30
40
Red above andgreen below
Red on bothsides
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
0
10
20
30
40
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Conspicious Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
0
10
20
30
40
Red on bothsides
Red coloronly on one
side
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
Heartshaped
Broadlyovate
Starshaped
Palmatelytriangular
lobes
Palmatelylobed
with serratedmargin
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
Figure 2(e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of leaf color (a) leaf petiole color (b) leaf pubescence (c) flower color(d) and shape of a leaf (e) evaluated at [31]
4 International Journal of Agronomy
4 Conclusion
(e present study concluded that the okra genotypes collectedfrom the regional state had a wide variation for leaf fruitflower and seed shape color and other quality factors likepubescence which is a determinant factor in preference of theconsumer(erefore the result of this study is an indicator forthe presence of a higher chance to develop okra varieties highlypreferred by domestic and foreign markets through selectioncrossing of okra genotype collected from Benishangul Gumuzregional state as an example accession 29622 had a smoothtexture of fruit with green fruit color which is preferable byconsumers However the genotypes showed greater variabilityfor plant branching habits that has its effect mainly related tocontamination of branches and fruits by soilborne microor-ganisms and the soil itself during irrigating fields
Data Availability
(e raw data are included in the supplementary files andadditional information are available from the correspondingauthor upon request
Conflicts of Interest
(e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
(e authors appreciate the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institutefor financial support and Melkassa Agricultural ResearchCenter for the provision of experiment land
Supplementary Materials
Table S1 list and description of okra genotypes Table 1 the13 qualitative traits of 36 okra genotypes evaluated atMelkassa in 2019 Table S2 description and score of qual-itative traits of okra Figure S1 fruit shape score [32](Supplementary Materials)
References
[1] D S Kisher K Arya K J Yogeesh K Y Vinod and K Hee-Jong ldquoGenotypic variation among okra (Abelmoschus
0
10
20
30
40
Green withred patches
Green Yellowgreen
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
05
10152025303540
Erect Intermediate Horizontal Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
05
10152025303540
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
05
10152025303540
Ringedprotrude
Ringless(flat)
Sunken base Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
1 2 3 4 Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
05
10152025303540
Round Spherical(oval)
Kidney(reniform)
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(f )
Figure 3 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of immature fruit color (a) position of fruit on the stem (b) fruitpubescence (c) nature of fruit base (d) fruit shape (e) and shape of seed (f) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 5
esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Germplasms in South Indian PlantBreeding and Biotechnology vol 4 no 2 pp 234ndash241 2016
[2] O J Oyelade B I O Ade-Omowaye and V F AdeomildquoInfluence of variety on protein fat contents and somephysical characteristics of okra seedsrdquo Journal of Food En-gineering vol 57 no 2 pp 111ndash114 2003
[3] B M Santos P J Dittmar S M Olson S E Webb andS Zhang Okra Production in Florida pp 163ndash171 Universityof Florida IFAS Extension Gainesville FL USA 2012
[4] R S Muhammad A Muhammad Z KhurramM J Muhammad A Saeed and I Qumer ldquoGrowth yield andseed production of okra as influenced by different growthregulatorsrdquo Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science vol 50no 3 pp 387ndash392 2013
[5] M E Osawaru M C Ogwu and J Omologbe ldquoCharacter-ization of three Okra [Ablemoschus esculentus (L)] accessionsusing morphology and SDS-PAGE for the basis of conser-vationrdquo Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological SciencesH Botany vol 5 no 1 pp 55ndash65 2014
[6] W J Lamont ldquoOkra-A versatile vegetable croprdquo HortTech-nology vol 9 no 2 pp 179ndash184 1999
[7] FAOSTAT (2004) (httpfaoorg)[8] M Saifullah and M G Rabbani ldquoEvaluation and charac-
terization of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L Moench)cultivarsrdquo SAARC Journal of Agriculture vol 7 no 1pp 92ndash99 2009
[9] S Haruna B S Aliyu and A Bala ldquoPlant gum exudates(Karau) and mucilages their biological sources propertiesuses and potential applications a reviewrdquo Bayero Journal ofPure and Applied Sciences vol 9 no 2 pp 159ndash165 2016
[10] W B Akanbi A O Togun J A Adediran andE A O Ilupeju ldquoGrowth dry matter and fruit yield com-ponents of okra under organic and inorganic sources ofnutrientsrdquo American-eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agri-culture vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2010
[11] F O Daniela M Alicia R C Alicia H Rodolfo andZ V Sonia ldquoQuality attributes of okra (Abelmoschus escu-lentus (L) Moench) pods as affected by cultivar and fruit sizerdquoJournal of Food Research vol 1 no 4 pp 224ndash235 2012
[12] P S Kumar and S Sreeparvathy ldquoStudies on heterosis in okra(Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Electronic Journal ofPlant Breeding vol 1 no 6 pp 1431ndash1433 2010
[13] M T Reddy K H Babu M Ganesh H BegumR S K Reddy and J D Babu ldquoExploitation of hybrid vigorfor yield and its components in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus(L) Moench]rdquo American Journal of Agricultural Science andTechnology vol 1 pp 1ndash17 2013
[14] V A Jideani and B M Bello ldquoFunctional properties of okraprotein products containing different levels of mucilagerdquoJournal of Food Agriculture amp Environment vol 7 no 2pp 252ndash255 2009
[15] T Moekchantuk and P Kumar Export Okra Production in6ailand Vol 56 Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations Bangkok (ailand 2004
[16] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoMultivariate analysisamong okra (abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) collectionin south western Ethiopiardquo Journal of Plant Sciences vol 9no 2 pp 43ndash50 2014a
[17] T Binalfew and A Yosef ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abel-moschus esculentus (L) Moench) germplasms collected fromwestern Ethiopiardquo International Journal of Research in Ag-riculture and Forestry vol 3 no 2 pp 11ndash17 2016
[18] MoANR Crop Variety Registers Issue No 19 p 211 MoANRAddis Abeba Ethiopia 2016
[19] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoVariability and as-sociation of quantitative characters among okra (abelmoschusesculentus (L) Moench) collection in south western Ethio-piardquo Journal of Biological Sciences vol 14 no 5 pp 336ndash3422014b
[20] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoGenetic diversityof Ethiopian okra collections through multivariate analysis atwerer rift valley of Ethiopiardquo 6e International Journal OfScience and Technolodge vol 3 no 8 pp 186ndash193 2015
[21] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoVariabilityheritability and genetic advance in Ethiopian okra [Abel-moschus esculentus (L) monech] collections for tender fruityield and other agro-morphological traitsrsquordquo Journal of AppliedLife Sciences International vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash12 2016
[22] W Mohammed Anteneh Bekele and V Kumar ldquoCharac-terization and evaluation of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] collections in eastern Ethiopiardquo in Proceedings of34th Annual review workshop Haramaya University Har-amaya Ethopia April 2017
[23] N Temam ldquoCorrelation and path coefficent analysis of podyield and related traits of okra [abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] genotypes evaluated at Melkassa centeral EthiopiardquoInternational Journal of Engineering Research and Technologyvol 9 no 8 pp 792ndash801 2020
[24] M Slatkin ldquoGene flow and the geographic structure of naturalpopulationsrdquo Science vol 236 no 4803 pp 787ndash792 1987
[25] P Nosil L J Harmon and O Seehausen ldquoEcological ex-planations for (incomplete) speciationrdquo Trends in Ecology ampEvolution vol 24 no 3 pp 145ndash156 2009
[26] H R Bhandari A N Bhanu K Srivastava and M N SinghldquoAssessments of genetic diversity in crop plants-An over-viewrdquo Advance Plant vol 76 2017
[27] S Hammon and D H Van Stolen ldquoCharacterization andevaluation of okrardquo6e Use of Plant Genetic Resource vol 27pp 173-174 1989
[28] G Olaoye O B Bello L S Olayiwola and A Y AbubakarldquoAnalyses of moisture deficit grain yield loss in droughttolerant maize (Zea mays L) germplasm accessions and itsrelationship with field performancerdquo African Journal ofBiotechnology vol 8 no 14 p 3229‒3238 2009
[29] O AdeOluwa and O Kehinde ldquoGenetic variability studies inwest african okra (abelmoschus caillei)rdquo Agriculture andBiology Journal of North America vol 2 no 10 pp 1326ndash1335 2011
[30] B O Bashir and D Aminu ldquoGenetic relationships amongokra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) cultivars inNigeriardquo Acta Agriculturae Slovenica vol 109 no 2pp 251ndash260 2017
[31] Melkassa Agricultural Research Center ldquoHome page datasrdquo2019 httpwwweiargovetmarc
[32] IPGRI ldquoOkra descriptor listrdquo International Crop NetworkSeries 5 International Board for Plant Genetic Resources(IBPGR) Rome Italy 1991
[33] K K Tripathi O P Govila W Ranjini and A Vibha BiologyOf Okra [Abelmoschus Esculentus (L)Moench]Serious OfCrop Specific Biology Document p 22 Ministry of Environ-ment and forests government of India and department ofbiotechnology ministry of science and technology govern-ment of India New Delhi India 2011
[34] D Oppong-Sekyere R Akromah E Y Nyamah E Brenyaand S Yeboah ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abelmoschus sppL) germplasm based on morphological characters in GhanardquoJournal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science vol 3 no 13pp 367ndash378 2011
6 International Journal of Agronomy
were distributed into three categories of each trait though 50to 7222 genotypes were grouped in one of the categories ofeach trait (e okra genotypes collected from different re-gions and countries may be distributed into varied categoriesof plant habit stem color and plant alignment and theproportion of genotypes in each category may vary due toeither inherent characteristic differences and environmentaldifferences where the genotypes are grown or selection ofgenotype differences by a human being Evolutionary forceslike selection mutation migration and genetic drift are thebasis of crop genetic diversity [26] (ere may be also dif-ferences in data registration because descriptors tend to behighly subjective [27]
Tripath et al [33] reported that the stem of the okraplant is robust erect and variable in branching and variesfrom 05 to 40 meters in height and the stem is pigmentedwith green or reddish tinged color Muluken et al [21]reported that densely branched base (DBB) characterswere 92 in frequency were densely branched overalland had nonbranched growth habit of 4 for each Besidesother authors Oppong-sekyere et al [34] Tesfa and Yosef[17] and Wassu et al [22] reported that the growth habitand degree of branching of okra germplasm are highlyvariable About 59 of accessions are erect type while247 and 164 of accession are characterized by me-dium growth and procumbent type of growth alignmentrespectively (e stem of okra was 32 24 and 44showing green green with red patches and redpurplecolor respectively Also they reported that most okragenotypes are densely branched at base characters fol-lowed by densely branched overall and branched at theapex
312 Leaf- and Flower-Related Traits of Okra (e testedgenotypes had great variations for leaf-related qualitativetraits namely leaf color leaf petiole color leaf pubes-cence and shape of a leaf (Figure 2) Out of 36 genotypes22 (6111) and 14 (3889) genotypes showed greenwith red veins and green leaf color respectively (e leafpetiole of 36 genotypes was observed as red above butgreen below 27 (75) and red on both sides 9 (25)
among evaluated genotypes (e leaf pubescence traitsobserved among 36 genotypes were as follows 31(8611) had slight leaf pubescence 3 (833) had gla-brous leaf pubescence and 2 (556) had conspicuousleaf pubescence (e study also revealed five distinct leafshapes 11 (3056) were heart-shaped 10 (2778) werebroadly ovate 10 (2778) were palmately lobed with aserrated margin 3 (833) were star-shaped and 2(556) were with palmately triangular lobes Similarresults were reported by Wassu et al [22] stating thatamong 25 okra genotypes 60 showed green with redvein and 40 had green leaf colors Tesfa and Yosef [17]reported three distinct leaf colors namely green with redveins (265) green color (603) and red color (132)Besides they also reported that 671 had slight leafpubescence 192 had glabrous leaf pubescence and137 had conspicuous leaf pubescence among 50 testedgenotypes Muluken et al [21] reported that genotypesshow that 48 were heart-shaped 28 were broadlyovate-shaped 16 were star-shaped and 8 were pal-mately lobed with a serrated margin of leaf shape
All okra genotypes show flower color with red color onboth sides except one genotype which shows red color insideonly A similar result was reported by Muluken et al [21]where all okra genotypes showed uniform red flower color atboth sides Wassu et al [22] also reported that 22 (88) andthree (12) okra genotypes had flowers with red color atboth sides and red color inside only respectively
313 Fruit-Related Trait and Seed Shape of Okra Genotypes(e current research reveals the presence of variationamong tested genotypes for immature fruit color theposition of fruit on the main stem fruit shape fruitpubescence and nature of fruit base (Figure 3) (eimmature fruit color of 20 (5556) genotypes was greenwith a red patch 15 (4167) had green color and 1(278) had yellow-green color All genotypes had slightfruit pubescence except one genotype which had an ir-ritating character at harvest unless we used gloves duringharvest In addition to this 25 (6944) 10 (2778) and1(278) genotypes show erect intermediate and
0
5
10
15
20
Denselybranched at
the apex(DBA)
Denselybranched
base(DBB)
Denselybranched
overall(DBO)
(a)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Green Green withred patches
Red orPurple
(b)
Figure 1 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of plant habit (a) and stem color (b) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 3
horizontal fruit positions on the main stem respectively(e genotypes had three different fruit base natures ofwhich 25 (6944) 6 (1667) and 5 (1389) are ringedprotrude ringless (flat) and sunken fruit base respec-tively Fruit shape showed the greatest diversity among theokra accessions from shape scores 1 2 3 and 4 as 41671389 1667 and 2778 respectively according to fruitshape score (Supplementary Figure 1) (is result showsthe presence of variation among genotypes studied whichmay be due to the distribution of genotypes and an en-vironmental difference that indicates the possibility ofimproving fruit qualitative traits through the selectionandor crossing of genotypes from the regional state
Muluken et al [21] observed that 72 and 28 of ge-notypes had green and yellow-green immature fruit colorrespectively and 68 and 32 of genotypes had an erect andintermediate position of fruit on the main stem respectively
Tesfa and Yosef [17] also reported that 561 had yellowish-green immature fruit color 258 were green 121 weregreen with red 3 were dark green and 3 had dark redimmature fruit colors (ey also identify fruit pubescence asfollows 296 were down 352 were slightly rough and352 were prickly Adeoluwa and Kehinde [29] reportedthat 60 had an erect fruit position and 40 had a hori-zontal fruit position on themain stem and 56 had a smoothfruit pubescence and 44 had a rough fruit pubescence(ey also reported three distinct fruit colors of green(4285) purple (4857) and green-yellow (857)
(e genotypes showed three seed shapes 4 (1111)had reniform (kidney) shape and 16 (4444) had roundand spherical shapes each Oppeng et al [34] reported thatamong genotypes 24 40 and 36 showed roundspherical (oval) and kidney (reniform) seed shapesrespectively
0
10
20
30
40
Green with redveins
Totally green Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
0
10
20
30
40
Red above andgreen below
Red on bothsides
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
0
10
20
30
40
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Conspicious Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
0
10
20
30
40
Red on bothsides
Red coloronly on one
side
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
Heartshaped
Broadlyovate
Starshaped
Palmatelytriangular
lobes
Palmatelylobed
with serratedmargin
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
Figure 2(e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of leaf color (a) leaf petiole color (b) leaf pubescence (c) flower color(d) and shape of a leaf (e) evaluated at [31]
4 International Journal of Agronomy
4 Conclusion
(e present study concluded that the okra genotypes collectedfrom the regional state had a wide variation for leaf fruitflower and seed shape color and other quality factors likepubescence which is a determinant factor in preference of theconsumer(erefore the result of this study is an indicator forthe presence of a higher chance to develop okra varieties highlypreferred by domestic and foreign markets through selectioncrossing of okra genotype collected from Benishangul Gumuzregional state as an example accession 29622 had a smoothtexture of fruit with green fruit color which is preferable byconsumers However the genotypes showed greater variabilityfor plant branching habits that has its effect mainly related tocontamination of branches and fruits by soilborne microor-ganisms and the soil itself during irrigating fields
Data Availability
(e raw data are included in the supplementary files andadditional information are available from the correspondingauthor upon request
Conflicts of Interest
(e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
(e authors appreciate the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institutefor financial support and Melkassa Agricultural ResearchCenter for the provision of experiment land
Supplementary Materials
Table S1 list and description of okra genotypes Table 1 the13 qualitative traits of 36 okra genotypes evaluated atMelkassa in 2019 Table S2 description and score of qual-itative traits of okra Figure S1 fruit shape score [32](Supplementary Materials)
References
[1] D S Kisher K Arya K J Yogeesh K Y Vinod and K Hee-Jong ldquoGenotypic variation among okra (Abelmoschus
0
10
20
30
40
Green withred patches
Green Yellowgreen
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
05
10152025303540
Erect Intermediate Horizontal Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
05
10152025303540
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
05
10152025303540
Ringedprotrude
Ringless(flat)
Sunken base Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
1 2 3 4 Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
05
10152025303540
Round Spherical(oval)
Kidney(reniform)
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(f )
Figure 3 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of immature fruit color (a) position of fruit on the stem (b) fruitpubescence (c) nature of fruit base (d) fruit shape (e) and shape of seed (f) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 5
esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Germplasms in South Indian PlantBreeding and Biotechnology vol 4 no 2 pp 234ndash241 2016
[2] O J Oyelade B I O Ade-Omowaye and V F AdeomildquoInfluence of variety on protein fat contents and somephysical characteristics of okra seedsrdquo Journal of Food En-gineering vol 57 no 2 pp 111ndash114 2003
[3] B M Santos P J Dittmar S M Olson S E Webb andS Zhang Okra Production in Florida pp 163ndash171 Universityof Florida IFAS Extension Gainesville FL USA 2012
[4] R S Muhammad A Muhammad Z KhurramM J Muhammad A Saeed and I Qumer ldquoGrowth yield andseed production of okra as influenced by different growthregulatorsrdquo Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science vol 50no 3 pp 387ndash392 2013
[5] M E Osawaru M C Ogwu and J Omologbe ldquoCharacter-ization of three Okra [Ablemoschus esculentus (L)] accessionsusing morphology and SDS-PAGE for the basis of conser-vationrdquo Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological SciencesH Botany vol 5 no 1 pp 55ndash65 2014
[6] W J Lamont ldquoOkra-A versatile vegetable croprdquo HortTech-nology vol 9 no 2 pp 179ndash184 1999
[7] FAOSTAT (2004) (httpfaoorg)[8] M Saifullah and M G Rabbani ldquoEvaluation and charac-
terization of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L Moench)cultivarsrdquo SAARC Journal of Agriculture vol 7 no 1pp 92ndash99 2009
[9] S Haruna B S Aliyu and A Bala ldquoPlant gum exudates(Karau) and mucilages their biological sources propertiesuses and potential applications a reviewrdquo Bayero Journal ofPure and Applied Sciences vol 9 no 2 pp 159ndash165 2016
[10] W B Akanbi A O Togun J A Adediran andE A O Ilupeju ldquoGrowth dry matter and fruit yield com-ponents of okra under organic and inorganic sources ofnutrientsrdquo American-eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agri-culture vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2010
[11] F O Daniela M Alicia R C Alicia H Rodolfo andZ V Sonia ldquoQuality attributes of okra (Abelmoschus escu-lentus (L) Moench) pods as affected by cultivar and fruit sizerdquoJournal of Food Research vol 1 no 4 pp 224ndash235 2012
[12] P S Kumar and S Sreeparvathy ldquoStudies on heterosis in okra(Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Electronic Journal ofPlant Breeding vol 1 no 6 pp 1431ndash1433 2010
[13] M T Reddy K H Babu M Ganesh H BegumR S K Reddy and J D Babu ldquoExploitation of hybrid vigorfor yield and its components in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus(L) Moench]rdquo American Journal of Agricultural Science andTechnology vol 1 pp 1ndash17 2013
[14] V A Jideani and B M Bello ldquoFunctional properties of okraprotein products containing different levels of mucilagerdquoJournal of Food Agriculture amp Environment vol 7 no 2pp 252ndash255 2009
[15] T Moekchantuk and P Kumar Export Okra Production in6ailand Vol 56 Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations Bangkok (ailand 2004
[16] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoMultivariate analysisamong okra (abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) collectionin south western Ethiopiardquo Journal of Plant Sciences vol 9no 2 pp 43ndash50 2014a
[17] T Binalfew and A Yosef ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abel-moschus esculentus (L) Moench) germplasms collected fromwestern Ethiopiardquo International Journal of Research in Ag-riculture and Forestry vol 3 no 2 pp 11ndash17 2016
[18] MoANR Crop Variety Registers Issue No 19 p 211 MoANRAddis Abeba Ethiopia 2016
[19] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoVariability and as-sociation of quantitative characters among okra (abelmoschusesculentus (L) Moench) collection in south western Ethio-piardquo Journal of Biological Sciences vol 14 no 5 pp 336ndash3422014b
[20] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoGenetic diversityof Ethiopian okra collections through multivariate analysis atwerer rift valley of Ethiopiardquo 6e International Journal OfScience and Technolodge vol 3 no 8 pp 186ndash193 2015
[21] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoVariabilityheritability and genetic advance in Ethiopian okra [Abel-moschus esculentus (L) monech] collections for tender fruityield and other agro-morphological traitsrsquordquo Journal of AppliedLife Sciences International vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash12 2016
[22] W Mohammed Anteneh Bekele and V Kumar ldquoCharac-terization and evaluation of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] collections in eastern Ethiopiardquo in Proceedings of34th Annual review workshop Haramaya University Har-amaya Ethopia April 2017
[23] N Temam ldquoCorrelation and path coefficent analysis of podyield and related traits of okra [abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] genotypes evaluated at Melkassa centeral EthiopiardquoInternational Journal of Engineering Research and Technologyvol 9 no 8 pp 792ndash801 2020
[24] M Slatkin ldquoGene flow and the geographic structure of naturalpopulationsrdquo Science vol 236 no 4803 pp 787ndash792 1987
[25] P Nosil L J Harmon and O Seehausen ldquoEcological ex-planations for (incomplete) speciationrdquo Trends in Ecology ampEvolution vol 24 no 3 pp 145ndash156 2009
[26] H R Bhandari A N Bhanu K Srivastava and M N SinghldquoAssessments of genetic diversity in crop plants-An over-viewrdquo Advance Plant vol 76 2017
[27] S Hammon and D H Van Stolen ldquoCharacterization andevaluation of okrardquo6e Use of Plant Genetic Resource vol 27pp 173-174 1989
[28] G Olaoye O B Bello L S Olayiwola and A Y AbubakarldquoAnalyses of moisture deficit grain yield loss in droughttolerant maize (Zea mays L) germplasm accessions and itsrelationship with field performancerdquo African Journal ofBiotechnology vol 8 no 14 p 3229‒3238 2009
[29] O AdeOluwa and O Kehinde ldquoGenetic variability studies inwest african okra (abelmoschus caillei)rdquo Agriculture andBiology Journal of North America vol 2 no 10 pp 1326ndash1335 2011
[30] B O Bashir and D Aminu ldquoGenetic relationships amongokra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) cultivars inNigeriardquo Acta Agriculturae Slovenica vol 109 no 2pp 251ndash260 2017
[31] Melkassa Agricultural Research Center ldquoHome page datasrdquo2019 httpwwweiargovetmarc
[32] IPGRI ldquoOkra descriptor listrdquo International Crop NetworkSeries 5 International Board for Plant Genetic Resources(IBPGR) Rome Italy 1991
[33] K K Tripathi O P Govila W Ranjini and A Vibha BiologyOf Okra [Abelmoschus Esculentus (L)Moench]Serious OfCrop Specific Biology Document p 22 Ministry of Environ-ment and forests government of India and department ofbiotechnology ministry of science and technology govern-ment of India New Delhi India 2011
[34] D Oppong-Sekyere R Akromah E Y Nyamah E Brenyaand S Yeboah ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abelmoschus sppL) germplasm based on morphological characters in GhanardquoJournal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science vol 3 no 13pp 367ndash378 2011
6 International Journal of Agronomy
horizontal fruit positions on the main stem respectively(e genotypes had three different fruit base natures ofwhich 25 (6944) 6 (1667) and 5 (1389) are ringedprotrude ringless (flat) and sunken fruit base respec-tively Fruit shape showed the greatest diversity among theokra accessions from shape scores 1 2 3 and 4 as 41671389 1667 and 2778 respectively according to fruitshape score (Supplementary Figure 1) (is result showsthe presence of variation among genotypes studied whichmay be due to the distribution of genotypes and an en-vironmental difference that indicates the possibility ofimproving fruit qualitative traits through the selectionandor crossing of genotypes from the regional state
Muluken et al [21] observed that 72 and 28 of ge-notypes had green and yellow-green immature fruit colorrespectively and 68 and 32 of genotypes had an erect andintermediate position of fruit on the main stem respectively
Tesfa and Yosef [17] also reported that 561 had yellowish-green immature fruit color 258 were green 121 weregreen with red 3 were dark green and 3 had dark redimmature fruit colors (ey also identify fruit pubescence asfollows 296 were down 352 were slightly rough and352 were prickly Adeoluwa and Kehinde [29] reportedthat 60 had an erect fruit position and 40 had a hori-zontal fruit position on themain stem and 56 had a smoothfruit pubescence and 44 had a rough fruit pubescence(ey also reported three distinct fruit colors of green(4285) purple (4857) and green-yellow (857)
(e genotypes showed three seed shapes 4 (1111)had reniform (kidney) shape and 16 (4444) had roundand spherical shapes each Oppeng et al [34] reported thatamong genotypes 24 40 and 36 showed roundspherical (oval) and kidney (reniform) seed shapesrespectively
0
10
20
30
40
Green with redveins
Totally green Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
0
10
20
30
40
Red above andgreen below
Red on bothsides
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
0
10
20
30
40
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Conspicious Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
0
10
20
30
40
Red on bothsides
Red coloronly on one
side
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
Heartshaped
Broadlyovate
Starshaped
Palmatelytriangular
lobes
Palmatelylobed
with serratedmargin
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
Figure 2(e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of leaf color (a) leaf petiole color (b) leaf pubescence (c) flower color(d) and shape of a leaf (e) evaluated at [31]
4 International Journal of Agronomy
4 Conclusion
(e present study concluded that the okra genotypes collectedfrom the regional state had a wide variation for leaf fruitflower and seed shape color and other quality factors likepubescence which is a determinant factor in preference of theconsumer(erefore the result of this study is an indicator forthe presence of a higher chance to develop okra varieties highlypreferred by domestic and foreign markets through selectioncrossing of okra genotype collected from Benishangul Gumuzregional state as an example accession 29622 had a smoothtexture of fruit with green fruit color which is preferable byconsumers However the genotypes showed greater variabilityfor plant branching habits that has its effect mainly related tocontamination of branches and fruits by soilborne microor-ganisms and the soil itself during irrigating fields
Data Availability
(e raw data are included in the supplementary files andadditional information are available from the correspondingauthor upon request
Conflicts of Interest
(e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
(e authors appreciate the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institutefor financial support and Melkassa Agricultural ResearchCenter for the provision of experiment land
Supplementary Materials
Table S1 list and description of okra genotypes Table 1 the13 qualitative traits of 36 okra genotypes evaluated atMelkassa in 2019 Table S2 description and score of qual-itative traits of okra Figure S1 fruit shape score [32](Supplementary Materials)
References
[1] D S Kisher K Arya K J Yogeesh K Y Vinod and K Hee-Jong ldquoGenotypic variation among okra (Abelmoschus
0
10
20
30
40
Green withred patches
Green Yellowgreen
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
05
10152025303540
Erect Intermediate Horizontal Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
05
10152025303540
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
05
10152025303540
Ringedprotrude
Ringless(flat)
Sunken base Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
1 2 3 4 Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
05
10152025303540
Round Spherical(oval)
Kidney(reniform)
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(f )
Figure 3 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of immature fruit color (a) position of fruit on the stem (b) fruitpubescence (c) nature of fruit base (d) fruit shape (e) and shape of seed (f) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 5
esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Germplasms in South Indian PlantBreeding and Biotechnology vol 4 no 2 pp 234ndash241 2016
[2] O J Oyelade B I O Ade-Omowaye and V F AdeomildquoInfluence of variety on protein fat contents and somephysical characteristics of okra seedsrdquo Journal of Food En-gineering vol 57 no 2 pp 111ndash114 2003
[3] B M Santos P J Dittmar S M Olson S E Webb andS Zhang Okra Production in Florida pp 163ndash171 Universityof Florida IFAS Extension Gainesville FL USA 2012
[4] R S Muhammad A Muhammad Z KhurramM J Muhammad A Saeed and I Qumer ldquoGrowth yield andseed production of okra as influenced by different growthregulatorsrdquo Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science vol 50no 3 pp 387ndash392 2013
[5] M E Osawaru M C Ogwu and J Omologbe ldquoCharacter-ization of three Okra [Ablemoschus esculentus (L)] accessionsusing morphology and SDS-PAGE for the basis of conser-vationrdquo Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological SciencesH Botany vol 5 no 1 pp 55ndash65 2014
[6] W J Lamont ldquoOkra-A versatile vegetable croprdquo HortTech-nology vol 9 no 2 pp 179ndash184 1999
[7] FAOSTAT (2004) (httpfaoorg)[8] M Saifullah and M G Rabbani ldquoEvaluation and charac-
terization of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L Moench)cultivarsrdquo SAARC Journal of Agriculture vol 7 no 1pp 92ndash99 2009
[9] S Haruna B S Aliyu and A Bala ldquoPlant gum exudates(Karau) and mucilages their biological sources propertiesuses and potential applications a reviewrdquo Bayero Journal ofPure and Applied Sciences vol 9 no 2 pp 159ndash165 2016
[10] W B Akanbi A O Togun J A Adediran andE A O Ilupeju ldquoGrowth dry matter and fruit yield com-ponents of okra under organic and inorganic sources ofnutrientsrdquo American-eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agri-culture vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2010
[11] F O Daniela M Alicia R C Alicia H Rodolfo andZ V Sonia ldquoQuality attributes of okra (Abelmoschus escu-lentus (L) Moench) pods as affected by cultivar and fruit sizerdquoJournal of Food Research vol 1 no 4 pp 224ndash235 2012
[12] P S Kumar and S Sreeparvathy ldquoStudies on heterosis in okra(Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Electronic Journal ofPlant Breeding vol 1 no 6 pp 1431ndash1433 2010
[13] M T Reddy K H Babu M Ganesh H BegumR S K Reddy and J D Babu ldquoExploitation of hybrid vigorfor yield and its components in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus(L) Moench]rdquo American Journal of Agricultural Science andTechnology vol 1 pp 1ndash17 2013
[14] V A Jideani and B M Bello ldquoFunctional properties of okraprotein products containing different levels of mucilagerdquoJournal of Food Agriculture amp Environment vol 7 no 2pp 252ndash255 2009
[15] T Moekchantuk and P Kumar Export Okra Production in6ailand Vol 56 Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations Bangkok (ailand 2004
[16] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoMultivariate analysisamong okra (abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) collectionin south western Ethiopiardquo Journal of Plant Sciences vol 9no 2 pp 43ndash50 2014a
[17] T Binalfew and A Yosef ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abel-moschus esculentus (L) Moench) germplasms collected fromwestern Ethiopiardquo International Journal of Research in Ag-riculture and Forestry vol 3 no 2 pp 11ndash17 2016
[18] MoANR Crop Variety Registers Issue No 19 p 211 MoANRAddis Abeba Ethiopia 2016
[19] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoVariability and as-sociation of quantitative characters among okra (abelmoschusesculentus (L) Moench) collection in south western Ethio-piardquo Journal of Biological Sciences vol 14 no 5 pp 336ndash3422014b
[20] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoGenetic diversityof Ethiopian okra collections through multivariate analysis atwerer rift valley of Ethiopiardquo 6e International Journal OfScience and Technolodge vol 3 no 8 pp 186ndash193 2015
[21] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoVariabilityheritability and genetic advance in Ethiopian okra [Abel-moschus esculentus (L) monech] collections for tender fruityield and other agro-morphological traitsrsquordquo Journal of AppliedLife Sciences International vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash12 2016
[22] W Mohammed Anteneh Bekele and V Kumar ldquoCharac-terization and evaluation of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] collections in eastern Ethiopiardquo in Proceedings of34th Annual review workshop Haramaya University Har-amaya Ethopia April 2017
[23] N Temam ldquoCorrelation and path coefficent analysis of podyield and related traits of okra [abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] genotypes evaluated at Melkassa centeral EthiopiardquoInternational Journal of Engineering Research and Technologyvol 9 no 8 pp 792ndash801 2020
[24] M Slatkin ldquoGene flow and the geographic structure of naturalpopulationsrdquo Science vol 236 no 4803 pp 787ndash792 1987
[25] P Nosil L J Harmon and O Seehausen ldquoEcological ex-planations for (incomplete) speciationrdquo Trends in Ecology ampEvolution vol 24 no 3 pp 145ndash156 2009
[26] H R Bhandari A N Bhanu K Srivastava and M N SinghldquoAssessments of genetic diversity in crop plants-An over-viewrdquo Advance Plant vol 76 2017
[27] S Hammon and D H Van Stolen ldquoCharacterization andevaluation of okrardquo6e Use of Plant Genetic Resource vol 27pp 173-174 1989
[28] G Olaoye O B Bello L S Olayiwola and A Y AbubakarldquoAnalyses of moisture deficit grain yield loss in droughttolerant maize (Zea mays L) germplasm accessions and itsrelationship with field performancerdquo African Journal ofBiotechnology vol 8 no 14 p 3229‒3238 2009
[29] O AdeOluwa and O Kehinde ldquoGenetic variability studies inwest african okra (abelmoschus caillei)rdquo Agriculture andBiology Journal of North America vol 2 no 10 pp 1326ndash1335 2011
[30] B O Bashir and D Aminu ldquoGenetic relationships amongokra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) cultivars inNigeriardquo Acta Agriculturae Slovenica vol 109 no 2pp 251ndash260 2017
[31] Melkassa Agricultural Research Center ldquoHome page datasrdquo2019 httpwwweiargovetmarc
[32] IPGRI ldquoOkra descriptor listrdquo International Crop NetworkSeries 5 International Board for Plant Genetic Resources(IBPGR) Rome Italy 1991
[33] K K Tripathi O P Govila W Ranjini and A Vibha BiologyOf Okra [Abelmoschus Esculentus (L)Moench]Serious OfCrop Specific Biology Document p 22 Ministry of Environ-ment and forests government of India and department ofbiotechnology ministry of science and technology govern-ment of India New Delhi India 2011
[34] D Oppong-Sekyere R Akromah E Y Nyamah E Brenyaand S Yeboah ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abelmoschus sppL) germplasm based on morphological characters in GhanardquoJournal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science vol 3 no 13pp 367ndash378 2011
6 International Journal of Agronomy
4 Conclusion
(e present study concluded that the okra genotypes collectedfrom the regional state had a wide variation for leaf fruitflower and seed shape color and other quality factors likepubescence which is a determinant factor in preference of theconsumer(erefore the result of this study is an indicator forthe presence of a higher chance to develop okra varieties highlypreferred by domestic and foreign markets through selectioncrossing of okra genotype collected from Benishangul Gumuzregional state as an example accession 29622 had a smoothtexture of fruit with green fruit color which is preferable byconsumers However the genotypes showed greater variabilityfor plant branching habits that has its effect mainly related tocontamination of branches and fruits by soilborne microor-ganisms and the soil itself during irrigating fields
Data Availability
(e raw data are included in the supplementary files andadditional information are available from the correspondingauthor upon request
Conflicts of Interest
(e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
(e authors appreciate the Ethiopian Biodiversity Institutefor financial support and Melkassa Agricultural ResearchCenter for the provision of experiment land
Supplementary Materials
Table S1 list and description of okra genotypes Table 1 the13 qualitative traits of 36 okra genotypes evaluated atMelkassa in 2019 Table S2 description and score of qual-itative traits of okra Figure S1 fruit shape score [32](Supplementary Materials)
References
[1] D S Kisher K Arya K J Yogeesh K Y Vinod and K Hee-Jong ldquoGenotypic variation among okra (Abelmoschus
0
10
20
30
40
Green withred patches
Green Yellowgreen
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(a)
05
10152025303540
Erect Intermediate Horizontal Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(b)
05
10152025303540
Slightpubescence
Glabrous Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(c)
05
10152025303540
Ringedprotrude
Ringless(flat)
Sunken base Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(d)
05
10152025303540
1 2 3 4 Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(e)
05
10152025303540
Round Spherical(oval)
Kidney(reniform)
Total
No
of g
enot
ypes
(f )
Figure 3 (e number of okra genotypes as distributed into categories of immature fruit color (a) position of fruit on the stem (b) fruitpubescence (c) nature of fruit base (d) fruit shape (e) and shape of seed (f) evaluated at [31]
International Journal of Agronomy 5
esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Germplasms in South Indian PlantBreeding and Biotechnology vol 4 no 2 pp 234ndash241 2016
[2] O J Oyelade B I O Ade-Omowaye and V F AdeomildquoInfluence of variety on protein fat contents and somephysical characteristics of okra seedsrdquo Journal of Food En-gineering vol 57 no 2 pp 111ndash114 2003
[3] B M Santos P J Dittmar S M Olson S E Webb andS Zhang Okra Production in Florida pp 163ndash171 Universityof Florida IFAS Extension Gainesville FL USA 2012
[4] R S Muhammad A Muhammad Z KhurramM J Muhammad A Saeed and I Qumer ldquoGrowth yield andseed production of okra as influenced by different growthregulatorsrdquo Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science vol 50no 3 pp 387ndash392 2013
[5] M E Osawaru M C Ogwu and J Omologbe ldquoCharacter-ization of three Okra [Ablemoschus esculentus (L)] accessionsusing morphology and SDS-PAGE for the basis of conser-vationrdquo Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological SciencesH Botany vol 5 no 1 pp 55ndash65 2014
[6] W J Lamont ldquoOkra-A versatile vegetable croprdquo HortTech-nology vol 9 no 2 pp 179ndash184 1999
[7] FAOSTAT (2004) (httpfaoorg)[8] M Saifullah and M G Rabbani ldquoEvaluation and charac-
terization of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L Moench)cultivarsrdquo SAARC Journal of Agriculture vol 7 no 1pp 92ndash99 2009
[9] S Haruna B S Aliyu and A Bala ldquoPlant gum exudates(Karau) and mucilages their biological sources propertiesuses and potential applications a reviewrdquo Bayero Journal ofPure and Applied Sciences vol 9 no 2 pp 159ndash165 2016
[10] W B Akanbi A O Togun J A Adediran andE A O Ilupeju ldquoGrowth dry matter and fruit yield com-ponents of okra under organic and inorganic sources ofnutrientsrdquo American-eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agri-culture vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2010
[11] F O Daniela M Alicia R C Alicia H Rodolfo andZ V Sonia ldquoQuality attributes of okra (Abelmoschus escu-lentus (L) Moench) pods as affected by cultivar and fruit sizerdquoJournal of Food Research vol 1 no 4 pp 224ndash235 2012
[12] P S Kumar and S Sreeparvathy ldquoStudies on heterosis in okra(Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Electronic Journal ofPlant Breeding vol 1 no 6 pp 1431ndash1433 2010
[13] M T Reddy K H Babu M Ganesh H BegumR S K Reddy and J D Babu ldquoExploitation of hybrid vigorfor yield and its components in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus(L) Moench]rdquo American Journal of Agricultural Science andTechnology vol 1 pp 1ndash17 2013
[14] V A Jideani and B M Bello ldquoFunctional properties of okraprotein products containing different levels of mucilagerdquoJournal of Food Agriculture amp Environment vol 7 no 2pp 252ndash255 2009
[15] T Moekchantuk and P Kumar Export Okra Production in6ailand Vol 56 Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations Bangkok (ailand 2004
[16] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoMultivariate analysisamong okra (abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) collectionin south western Ethiopiardquo Journal of Plant Sciences vol 9no 2 pp 43ndash50 2014a
[17] T Binalfew and A Yosef ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abel-moschus esculentus (L) Moench) germplasms collected fromwestern Ethiopiardquo International Journal of Research in Ag-riculture and Forestry vol 3 no 2 pp 11ndash17 2016
[18] MoANR Crop Variety Registers Issue No 19 p 211 MoANRAddis Abeba Ethiopia 2016
[19] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoVariability and as-sociation of quantitative characters among okra (abelmoschusesculentus (L) Moench) collection in south western Ethio-piardquo Journal of Biological Sciences vol 14 no 5 pp 336ndash3422014b
[20] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoGenetic diversityof Ethiopian okra collections through multivariate analysis atwerer rift valley of Ethiopiardquo 6e International Journal OfScience and Technolodge vol 3 no 8 pp 186ndash193 2015
[21] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoVariabilityheritability and genetic advance in Ethiopian okra [Abel-moschus esculentus (L) monech] collections for tender fruityield and other agro-morphological traitsrsquordquo Journal of AppliedLife Sciences International vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash12 2016
[22] W Mohammed Anteneh Bekele and V Kumar ldquoCharac-terization and evaluation of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] collections in eastern Ethiopiardquo in Proceedings of34th Annual review workshop Haramaya University Har-amaya Ethopia April 2017
[23] N Temam ldquoCorrelation and path coefficent analysis of podyield and related traits of okra [abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] genotypes evaluated at Melkassa centeral EthiopiardquoInternational Journal of Engineering Research and Technologyvol 9 no 8 pp 792ndash801 2020
[24] M Slatkin ldquoGene flow and the geographic structure of naturalpopulationsrdquo Science vol 236 no 4803 pp 787ndash792 1987
[25] P Nosil L J Harmon and O Seehausen ldquoEcological ex-planations for (incomplete) speciationrdquo Trends in Ecology ampEvolution vol 24 no 3 pp 145ndash156 2009
[26] H R Bhandari A N Bhanu K Srivastava and M N SinghldquoAssessments of genetic diversity in crop plants-An over-viewrdquo Advance Plant vol 76 2017
[27] S Hammon and D H Van Stolen ldquoCharacterization andevaluation of okrardquo6e Use of Plant Genetic Resource vol 27pp 173-174 1989
[28] G Olaoye O B Bello L S Olayiwola and A Y AbubakarldquoAnalyses of moisture deficit grain yield loss in droughttolerant maize (Zea mays L) germplasm accessions and itsrelationship with field performancerdquo African Journal ofBiotechnology vol 8 no 14 p 3229‒3238 2009
[29] O AdeOluwa and O Kehinde ldquoGenetic variability studies inwest african okra (abelmoschus caillei)rdquo Agriculture andBiology Journal of North America vol 2 no 10 pp 1326ndash1335 2011
[30] B O Bashir and D Aminu ldquoGenetic relationships amongokra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) cultivars inNigeriardquo Acta Agriculturae Slovenica vol 109 no 2pp 251ndash260 2017
[31] Melkassa Agricultural Research Center ldquoHome page datasrdquo2019 httpwwweiargovetmarc
[32] IPGRI ldquoOkra descriptor listrdquo International Crop NetworkSeries 5 International Board for Plant Genetic Resources(IBPGR) Rome Italy 1991
[33] K K Tripathi O P Govila W Ranjini and A Vibha BiologyOf Okra [Abelmoschus Esculentus (L)Moench]Serious OfCrop Specific Biology Document p 22 Ministry of Environ-ment and forests government of India and department ofbiotechnology ministry of science and technology govern-ment of India New Delhi India 2011
[34] D Oppong-Sekyere R Akromah E Y Nyamah E Brenyaand S Yeboah ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abelmoschus sppL) germplasm based on morphological characters in GhanardquoJournal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science vol 3 no 13pp 367ndash378 2011
6 International Journal of Agronomy
esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Germplasms in South Indian PlantBreeding and Biotechnology vol 4 no 2 pp 234ndash241 2016
[2] O J Oyelade B I O Ade-Omowaye and V F AdeomildquoInfluence of variety on protein fat contents and somephysical characteristics of okra seedsrdquo Journal of Food En-gineering vol 57 no 2 pp 111ndash114 2003
[3] B M Santos P J Dittmar S M Olson S E Webb andS Zhang Okra Production in Florida pp 163ndash171 Universityof Florida IFAS Extension Gainesville FL USA 2012
[4] R S Muhammad A Muhammad Z KhurramM J Muhammad A Saeed and I Qumer ldquoGrowth yield andseed production of okra as influenced by different growthregulatorsrdquo Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Science vol 50no 3 pp 387ndash392 2013
[5] M E Osawaru M C Ogwu and J Omologbe ldquoCharacter-ization of three Okra [Ablemoschus esculentus (L)] accessionsusing morphology and SDS-PAGE for the basis of conser-vationrdquo Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological SciencesH Botany vol 5 no 1 pp 55ndash65 2014
[6] W J Lamont ldquoOkra-A versatile vegetable croprdquo HortTech-nology vol 9 no 2 pp 179ndash184 1999
[7] FAOSTAT (2004) (httpfaoorg)[8] M Saifullah and M G Rabbani ldquoEvaluation and charac-
terization of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L Moench)cultivarsrdquo SAARC Journal of Agriculture vol 7 no 1pp 92ndash99 2009
[9] S Haruna B S Aliyu and A Bala ldquoPlant gum exudates(Karau) and mucilages their biological sources propertiesuses and potential applications a reviewrdquo Bayero Journal ofPure and Applied Sciences vol 9 no 2 pp 159ndash165 2016
[10] W B Akanbi A O Togun J A Adediran andE A O Ilupeju ldquoGrowth dry matter and fruit yield com-ponents of okra under organic and inorganic sources ofnutrientsrdquo American-eurasian Journal of Sustainable Agri-culture vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash13 2010
[11] F O Daniela M Alicia R C Alicia H Rodolfo andZ V Sonia ldquoQuality attributes of okra (Abelmoschus escu-lentus (L) Moench) pods as affected by cultivar and fruit sizerdquoJournal of Food Research vol 1 no 4 pp 224ndash235 2012
[12] P S Kumar and S Sreeparvathy ldquoStudies on heterosis in okra(Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench)rdquo Electronic Journal ofPlant Breeding vol 1 no 6 pp 1431ndash1433 2010
[13] M T Reddy K H Babu M Ganesh H BegumR S K Reddy and J D Babu ldquoExploitation of hybrid vigorfor yield and its components in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus(L) Moench]rdquo American Journal of Agricultural Science andTechnology vol 1 pp 1ndash17 2013
[14] V A Jideani and B M Bello ldquoFunctional properties of okraprotein products containing different levels of mucilagerdquoJournal of Food Agriculture amp Environment vol 7 no 2pp 252ndash255 2009
[15] T Moekchantuk and P Kumar Export Okra Production in6ailand Vol 56 Food and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations Bangkok (ailand 2004
[16] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoMultivariate analysisamong okra (abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) collectionin south western Ethiopiardquo Journal of Plant Sciences vol 9no 2 pp 43ndash50 2014a
[17] T Binalfew and A Yosef ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abel-moschus esculentus (L) Moench) germplasms collected fromwestern Ethiopiardquo International Journal of Research in Ag-riculture and Forestry vol 3 no 2 pp 11ndash17 2016
[18] MoANR Crop Variety Registers Issue No 19 p 211 MoANRAddis Abeba Ethiopia 2016
[19] M Yonas W Garedew and A Debela ldquoVariability and as-sociation of quantitative characters among okra (abelmoschusesculentus (L) Moench) collection in south western Ethio-piardquo Journal of Biological Sciences vol 14 no 5 pp 336ndash3422014b
[20] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoGenetic diversityof Ethiopian okra collections through multivariate analysis atwerer rift valley of Ethiopiardquo 6e International Journal OfScience and Technolodge vol 3 no 8 pp 186ndash193 2015
[21] M Demelie W Mohammed and E Gebre ldquoVariabilityheritability and genetic advance in Ethiopian okra [Abel-moschus esculentus (L) monech] collections for tender fruityield and other agro-morphological traitsrsquordquo Journal of AppliedLife Sciences International vol 4 no 1 pp 1ndash12 2016
[22] W Mohammed Anteneh Bekele and V Kumar ldquoCharac-terization and evaluation of okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] collections in eastern Ethiopiardquo in Proceedings of34th Annual review workshop Haramaya University Har-amaya Ethopia April 2017
[23] N Temam ldquoCorrelation and path coefficent analysis of podyield and related traits of okra [abelmoschus esculentus (L)Moench] genotypes evaluated at Melkassa centeral EthiopiardquoInternational Journal of Engineering Research and Technologyvol 9 no 8 pp 792ndash801 2020
[24] M Slatkin ldquoGene flow and the geographic structure of naturalpopulationsrdquo Science vol 236 no 4803 pp 787ndash792 1987
[25] P Nosil L J Harmon and O Seehausen ldquoEcological ex-planations for (incomplete) speciationrdquo Trends in Ecology ampEvolution vol 24 no 3 pp 145ndash156 2009
[26] H R Bhandari A N Bhanu K Srivastava and M N SinghldquoAssessments of genetic diversity in crop plants-An over-viewrdquo Advance Plant vol 76 2017
[27] S Hammon and D H Van Stolen ldquoCharacterization andevaluation of okrardquo6e Use of Plant Genetic Resource vol 27pp 173-174 1989
[28] G Olaoye O B Bello L S Olayiwola and A Y AbubakarldquoAnalyses of moisture deficit grain yield loss in droughttolerant maize (Zea mays L) germplasm accessions and itsrelationship with field performancerdquo African Journal ofBiotechnology vol 8 no 14 p 3229‒3238 2009
[29] O AdeOluwa and O Kehinde ldquoGenetic variability studies inwest african okra (abelmoschus caillei)rdquo Agriculture andBiology Journal of North America vol 2 no 10 pp 1326ndash1335 2011
[30] B O Bashir and D Aminu ldquoGenetic relationships amongokra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L) Moench) cultivars inNigeriardquo Acta Agriculturae Slovenica vol 109 no 2pp 251ndash260 2017
[31] Melkassa Agricultural Research Center ldquoHome page datasrdquo2019 httpwwweiargovetmarc
[32] IPGRI ldquoOkra descriptor listrdquo International Crop NetworkSeries 5 International Board for Plant Genetic Resources(IBPGR) Rome Italy 1991
[33] K K Tripathi O P Govila W Ranjini and A Vibha BiologyOf Okra [Abelmoschus Esculentus (L)Moench]Serious OfCrop Specific Biology Document p 22 Ministry of Environ-ment and forests government of India and department ofbiotechnology ministry of science and technology govern-ment of India New Delhi India 2011
[34] D Oppong-Sekyere R Akromah E Y Nyamah E Brenyaand S Yeboah ldquoCharacterization of okra (Abelmoschus sppL) germplasm based on morphological characters in GhanardquoJournal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science vol 3 no 13pp 367ndash378 2011
6 International Journal of Agronomy
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