Unlocking the genetic diversity of Indian turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) germplasm based on rhizome yield traits and curcuminoids

Mastan Vali Dudekula; Venkatesan Kandasamy; Senthamizh Selvi Balaraman; Selva Babu Selvamani; Raveendran Muthurajan; Karthikeyan Adhimoolam; Bharani Manoharan; Senthil Natesan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.1036592

Unlocking the genetic diversity of Indian turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) germplasm based on rhizome yield traits and curcuminoids

Front Plant Sci. 2022 Dec 15:13:1036592. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1036592. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Mastan Vali Dudekula¹, Venkatesan Kandasamy¹, Senthamizh Selvi Balaraman¹, Selva Babu Selvamani², Raveendran Muthurajan³, Karthikeyan Adhimoolam^{4

5}, Bharani Manoharan², Senthil Natesan²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Spices and Plantation Crops, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India.
² Department of Plant Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
³ Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁴ Department of Biotechnology, Centre of Innovation, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, India.
⁵ Subtropical Horticulture Research Institute, Jeju National University, Jeju, South Korea.

Abstract

Turmeric is an important commercial crop widely grown in Asia due to its pharmacological and nutritional value. India is the centre of turmeric diversity and many turmeric accessions have good rhizome yield, varying curcuminoids content and are well-adapted to various agro-climatic zones. In the present study, we unravel the diversity among 200 Indian turmeric accessions based on rhizome yield traits and curcuminoids content. Clustering and correlation studies were also performed to group the turmeric accessions and to observe the relationship between the traits. Results revealed the presence of large variability among turmeric accessions including the major traits such as yield (24.77 g p^-1 to 667.63 g p^-1), dry recovery percentage (13.42% to 29.18%), curcumin (0.41% to 2.17%), demethoxycurcumin (0.38% to 1.45%), bisdemethoxycurcumin (0.37% to 1.24%) and total curcuminoid content (1.26% to 4.55%). The superior germplasm identified for curcuminoids content were as follows; curcumin (CL 157 - 2.17% and CL 272 - 2.13%), demethoxycurcumin (CL 253 - 1.45% and CL 157 - 1.31%), bisdemethoxycurcumin (CL 216 - 1.24% and CL 57 - 1.11%) and total curcuminoid content (CL 157 - 4.55% and CL 272 - 4.37%). Clustering based on dendrogram, grouped 200 accessions into seven clusters. Among seven clusters, the maximum number of accessions were grouped into cluster II while cluster VII showed maximum mean value for majority of the traits. Correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between the traits where the total curcuminoid content is significantly and positively correlated with the primary rhizome core diameter and length of the secondary rhizome. The selection of these particular traits may result in the identification of germplasm with high total curcuminoid content. Taken together, it is the first report on the large screening of turmeric accessions for variation in the rhizome yield traits and curcuminoids content. The genetic diversity revealed in this study could be useful for further crop improvement programs in turmeric to develop new varieties with high rhizome yield coupled with high curcuminoids content.

Keywords: Turmeric; curcuminoids; genetic diversity; germplasm; rhizome yield traits.