Genetic Diversity through Morphological Characterisation in Betel Vine (Piper betle L.) of Malappuram District, Kerala, India

The present investigation was carried out to study the diversity of betel vine in Tirur and nearby areas of Malappuram district of Kerala and to characterise the landraces based on morphological features. Puthukodi, Chelan, Karinadan and Nadan were the betel vine cultivars recorded from Malappuram District. Puthukodi and Nadan were the most common cultivars whereas Chelan and Karinadan were the cultivars conserved by few farmers. Morphological characterisation revealed distinctness of Karinadan and Chelan from other cultivars. Karinadan had dark green leaves with even leaf margin, short petiole, generally ovate lanceolate leaf lamina and high brittleness. The plant growth parameters like plant height and total number of leaves were significantly low in this cultivar. On the other hand, Chelan had light green leaves with wavy leaf margin, long petiole, ovate leaf lamina and round leaf base. The plant growth parameters such as plant height and total number of leaves were significantly high in this cultivar, resulting in higher number of leaves per plant. Nadan, Puthukodi and Muvattupuzha Local cultivars had green leaves with even margin and medium brittleness. Puthukodi recorded maximum leaf weight per unit area and optimum leaf parameters, making it as the most preferred land race in Malappuram district.