Minimal Descriptors for Drumstick (Moringa oleifera Lam.) - An Underutilized Vegetable Crop

Plant genetic diversity is the key component of agricultural production systems. Without it no natural evolutionary adjustment of the system to changing environment and biotic conditions would be possible. This genetic diversity once collected needs to be characterized for effective utilisation. Moringa oleifera commonly called as drumstick is widely used in southern part of India. It is gaining importance in world food market because of its medicinal properties. Considering its commercial importance, there is a need to evaluate promising genotypes with high yield. Thus for an effective evaluation programme data needs to be standardized in terms of descriptor or descriptor state. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute has developed uniform standards for scoring, coding and data recording for most of the crops. But somehow this is lacking in medicinal plants in general and in Moringa species in particular. Therefore a list of minimal descriptors has been prepared for germplasm characterisation and evaluation with the help of some lines taken for the present study.