Comparison of Grafted Plants and Seedlings of Curry Leaf (Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng) for Yield and Performance

Author: Jones Ponraj A.*, Velmurugan S., Irene Vethamoni P., Subramanian A. and Pugalendhi L.

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Abstract

This study mainly focuses on comparing the grafted plants with the seedling plants of curry leaf for better morphological growth and yield. It is important to study the variation between grafted and seedlings as there are several constraints in breeding programmes of curry leaf through seeds, it is important to know the performance of grafted plants so as to implement for further crop improvement programmes. To study the variability parameters, genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance which will aid in finding traits responsible for the variation between grafted and seedling plants. Different parameters were recorded in which all the traits showed greater PCV % than that of GCV % with a minimum variation which can be considered as the result of environment. Three characters fresh weight of leaf, dry weight of leaf alone and fresh leaf yield had higher GCV and PCV %. All the characters used in this study had higher heritability coupled with genetic advance except for average number of leaflets per compound leaf. From the mean data observed it is found that grafted (GSK) plants performed better for growth and yield.

Keywords

Grafted plants, curry leaf, variability studies, analysis of variance, mean performance

Conclusion

For the comparison of grafted and seedling plants, grafted plants along with a wild type and 11 other accessions collected from different localities were evaluated. Grafted plants recorded relatively high performance to that of seedling plants. Different traits were also recorded for estimating the variation occurring between grafted and seedling plants of curry leaf, in which parameters viz., fresh weight of leaf, dry weight of leaf and fresh leaf yield per plant had high GCV and PCV. Heritability and genetic advance were also estimated for all the traits showing higher heritability and genetic advance except for average number of leaflets per compound leaf which had higher heritability coupled with low genetic advance. These genetic parameters were analysed for further supporting and strengthening the comparison study of grafts and seedlings.

References

INTRODUCTION Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng has been placed in the family of Rutaceae. Its habit is a perennial shrub that can grow up to a height of 2.5 meters. It is said to be originated from Tarai a low land region in Uttar Pradesh. Cultivation is practiced in other countries also like Burma, Sri Lanka, China, Australia, and some of the Pacific countries. It is grown mostly throughout India, mainly cultivated in Assam, Bengal, Western Ghats, cochin and skim to Garhwal, and India leads as one of the largest importers, consumers and producers among the Asian countries. Curry leaves are traditionally used in the preparation of food primarily in Indian cuisine they have a very pungent and acidic flavor. They are also used for treating malaise of gastrointestinal problems as it can be used as an alternative to modern expensive drugs (Batool et al., 2020). Some of their beneficial utilizations are, can be used as a blood purifier, for treating stomach aches, and for adding flavors to most dishes made in India. The unique flavor and aroma of the leaves are due to the presence of pinene, sabinene, caryophyllene, cadinol and cadinene (Jain et al., 2012). The use of Murraya koenigii (L.) Sprengan attributable spice to culinary and pharmacology is due to the chemical constituents like quercetin, catechin, epicatechin, naringin and myricetin present in their essential oils (Lal and Kaur 2019). Leaves of curry leaf plant have 66% water, 6% protein, 19% fiber and other mineral matter (Joseph and Peter 1985). They are rich in calcium, phosphorous, iron and carotene. They also contain oxalates and phytate phosphorous. It grows well with temperatures ranging from 270 - 470 C, soil with a slightly acidic nature having a pH range of 5 to 7 is ideal for cultivation. Curry leaf is mainly propagated through seeds which are found to be poly embryonic in nature (Sivasubramaniam and Selvarani 2012). Variability arises from genotype to genotype both morphologically and chemo-typically as reported by Chittaragi et al. (2021) the cause of such variation may be due to their genetic nature. They are also propagated by root suckers which shows a low success percentage compared to that of the seed propagation method. Seeds are also considered as a recalcitrant type; they lose viability due to excessive drying and temperature below 100 C. With several knowledge in grafting done previously in curry leaf which showed a better compatibility when wild type rootstock was used (Sandhya et al., 2020). It is found that wedge grafting method showed the highest compatibility among the different methods of grafting with the treatment of IBA solution (Aswin Sakthivel et al., 2021). Now it is necessary to study the comparative performance of grafted plants with the seedlings of curry leaf. This study concentrates on identification for better establishment, faster growth with better quality of curry leaf among the grafts as well as the seedlings. MATERIALS AND METHODS The experiment was carried out in Department of spices and plantation crops, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore in the year 2021. The experimental design followed for evaluation of grafts along with seedlings was Randomized Block design having 11 accessions (SK-1 to SK-11) collected from different localities, one wild type curry leaf plant collected from forest area of yercaud (WSK) and grafted plants (GSK) (Table 1). The accessions and grafts were replicated three times in the field. Different morphological parameters were recorded from the plants and statistical analysis were carried out for finding the mean differences among them which can be calculated using F test, Critical difference for comparison among the seedlings and the grafted plants. The observed data were also subjected to analysis of variance for the following parameters plant height, plant spread (N-S), plant spread (E-W), number of compound leaves per shoot, average length of shoots per plant, average number of leaflets per leaf of a plant, fresh weight of whole shoot, fresh weight of leaves alone, leaf length, fresh weight of leaflets per compound leaf, dry weight of leaves alone, fresh leaf yield/plant. Additionally genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation were also analysed using the formula given by (Al-Jibouri et al., 1958). All the Statistical analysis were performed by using the statistical package ‘TNAU STAT’. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The genetic variability parameters were estimated through analysis of variance (Table 2). The range of variation in the mean performance of different traits among the seedling and the grafted plants are plant height 32.29 cm – 57.25 cm, plant spread (N-S) 27.08 cm – 50.96 cm, plant spread (E-W) 25.63 cm – 47.33 cm, number of compound leaves per shoot 20.01 – 35.91, average length of shoots per plant 25.43 – 45.36 cm, average number of leaflets per leaf of a plant 12.77 cm – 16.37 cm, fresh weight of whole shoot 47.38 g – 72.72 g, fresh weight of leaves alone 24.05 g – 57.90 g, leaf length 10.52 – 18.70 cm, fresh weight of leaflets per compound leaf 1.30 cm – 2.24 cm, dry weight of leaves alone 20.31 – 44.45 g, fresh leaf yield/plant 79.54 g – 300.79 g. All the characters included in the study showed significant difference among the seedlings and the grafted curry leaf plants. From the analysed statistical parameters for the observed characters (Table 3), it is found that GSK showing highest mean performance for six characters among the 12 characters studied and considered to be superior to that of the seedling plants based on the analysed mean data, the highest mean performance for fresh leaf yield per plant were observed for GSK (300.790 g) followed by SK-1, SK-7 and SK-10. Plant height was maximum in GSK (57.25 cm) followed by SK-1 and SK-11. The extent of spread in north – south direction was maximum for GSK with a length of 50.96 cm but the spread of plant in east – west direction was maximum in SK-6 (47.33 cm). The number of compound leaves per shoot varied with different plants and was found to be maximum (35.91) and the number of leaflets were also maximum (16.37) for the grafted plants, which may contribute for the fresh weight of leaves alone and was found to be maximum for GSK (57.94 g). The mean performance of GSK was the highest for dry weight of leaves alone with 44.45 g. From the statistically analysed data for all the traits studied it would be concluded that analysis of variance showing significant differences with largest mean and variability contributing for the variation occurring between different plants (Lalitha et al., 1997). It can be stated that difference between phenotypic and genotypic variance observed would be due to the environmental factors (Ram and Singh 1993). Estimates of the genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation (GCV and PCV), showed that all the plants under study had a substantial degree of variance. All of the characters in the current study had somewhat greater PCVs than GCVs, but the differences were extremely small, indicating that the environment had less impact for most of the traits, considering superiority based on phenotype is therefore effective. Similar results have been reported by (Chittaragi et al., 2022). High phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation was observed for characters viz., fresh weight of leaf (22.29 % and 21.6%), dry weight of leaf alone (24.363 % and 22.421%) and fresh leaf yield (39.62% and 39.41%). Selection with these characters would be rewarding however genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation doesn’t provide vital information regarding heritable variation estimate. Heritability is the proportion of total variability that is due to genetic cause or can be defined as the ratio of genotypic variance to the total variance. It is a way to assess the heritable characters from the parents to offspring (Falconer, 1960). Among the 12 different traits studied, all the characters showed high heritability (Table 4). Genetic advance is the genetic gain under selection. Assessment of heritability when coupled with genetic advance are more useful in estimating the superiority and assisting in selection of elite types (Johnson et al., 1955). Expect for the character average number of leaflets per compound leaf (heritability- 69.13 % and genetic advance in percent of mean – 11.36 %) showed high heritability coupled with low genetic advance this result corresponds to the previous evaluation study carried out in curry leaf Shoba et al., (2020), which may result in non-additive gene action and selection for such traits may not be rewarding (Panse and Sukhatme 1954). All the other characters had high heritability along with high genetic advance, indicating the action of additive genes.

How to cite this article

Jones Ponraj A., Velmurugan S., Irene Vethamoni P., Subramanian A. and Pugalendhi L. (2022). Comparison of Grafted Plants and Seedlings of Curry Leaf (Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng) for Yield and Performance. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 14(2a):137-140.