Abstract:
Evaluation of forty mulberry accessions for morphological, growth and yield parameters was carried out during the year 2021-2022 at the Department of Sericulture, Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam.Qualitative traits such as growth nature, leaf surface, leaf lobation, leaf color and leaf wrinkles showed distinct variations in the present study. Among the forty accessions, the highest number of shoots/ plant was recorded in MI-0845 (27.40) and the highest shoot length was recorded in ME-0247 (230.70cm).The highest Internodal length was recorded in MI-0715 (8.39cm), the maximum number of leaves per plant was recorded in MI-0145 (584.00) and the maximum leaf area was recorded in MI-0477 (321.51cm2). Specific leaf area was maximum in MI-0615 (282.50 cm2/g) and a maximum number of leaves per branch were recorded in MI-0817 (55.80). The maximum 100 leaf weight was recorded in MI-0828 (673.40g) and leaf dry weight was significantly high in MI-0477 (88.71 g/plant). Phenotypic correlation between a number of shoots per plant showed a significantly positive correlation with specific leaf area and number of leaves per plant. Shoot length exhibited a significantly positive correlation with internodal length, number of leaves per plant had significantly positive correlation with specific leaf area. A significant and positive correlation between growth and yield traits can be utilized for mulberry leaf yield improvement. Based on the cluster analysis, 40 mulberry accessions were grouped into seven clusters. Among the clusters, cluster I and V exhibited maximum variability. The variability existing in the forty mulberry accessions provides opportunities for breeders to select specific donors for genetic improvement.