Agro-morphological diversity in turmeric (Curcuma longa) accessions collected from north-eastern India

Eightythree turmeric accessions from five states of north-eastern India were compared under high humid sub-tropics at mid altitude (1 000 m elevation) for ten quantitative characters using multivariate methods, including clustering and principal component analysis to assess the patterns of morphological variation. Plant height, leaf number, primary fingers size and suckers number showed positive and significant association with rhizome yield. The accessions were grouped into four clusters and within each group, morphological variations were of low order. The first four principal components contributed 75% of the variability. Both clustering and principal component analysis have proved to be effective methods in grouping turmeric accession according to their morphological characteristics and better understanding of the existing variability that will facilitate genotypic selection for crop improvement.