Sex Determination in Nutmeg (Myristica fragrance Hott.) by using RAPD Markers

The study indicated that choice of appropriate tissue is very important for DNA extraction and better quality yield of DNA in nutmeg followed by standardization and modifications of extraction buffer and PCR parameters. The RAPD analysis revealed important polymorphism in nutmeg if large numbers of primers are employed. Therefore, RAPD technique can be performed in a moderate laboratory for most of its applications. The RAPD method will probably be important as long as other DNA-based techniques remain unavailable in terms of cost, time and labour. The method has its disadvantages, which include poor reproducibility due to high sensitivity to changes in amplification conditions. For this reason, it is more preferable that RAPD markers should be converted to specific SCAR markers which can be further used for investigation. Such information will help the farmers to identify the sex of the saplings at an early stage and avoid their economic loss. Thus we can widen the probability ratio of male to female plants 1:9 as compared to present ration of 1:1 increasing more females, thereby increasing the yield of nutmeg almost two folds.