Diversity analysis of moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) mutant populations revealing extensive genetic variability for the morphological traits

Moringa is renowned as the miracle tree for its versatile applications in food, medicine, plant growth stimulation, animal feed, and its nutritional, pharmacological, and biotechnological potential. Initially, the mutation was induced by treating the seeds with gamma rays (100 Gy, 200Gy and 300 Gy) and Ethyl methane sulphonate (EMS) at 0.15%, 0.20% and 0.25%. Based on continuous evaluation of mutants from M1 to M3 generation, four selected mutant families: 15-1-09, 35-1-62, 35-1-63 and 35-1-68, with 15 mutants from each family were studied to identify high-performing mutants alongside PKM 1 Moringa. Principal component analysis (PCA) of 12 morphological traits for each mutant family revealed five principal components with eigenvalues exceeding one, collectively explaining 78.19, 74.88, 79.85 and 83.80% of the total variability from the mutant families 15-1-09, 35-1-63, 35-1-62, and 35-1-68 respectively. The analysis highlighted that foliage density, apex shape of the first leaf blade, leaf shape, and plant growth habit exhibited the highest variation, while the remaining traits showed lower variability. Through Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering (AHC) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), the genotypes 15-1-09-39, 35-1-62-72, 35-1-62-73, 35-1-68-79, and 35-1-63-06 emerged as the most diverse genotypes based on seedling hypocotyls colour, young shoot colour and petiole: anthocyanin colouration of the axis and branches. Hence, through this study, the identified diverse genotypes for specific traits of interest can be included in the moringa breeding programs for crop improvement.