MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF LONGAN (DIMOCARPOUS LONGAN LOUR.) GENOTYPES BASED ON QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS

Longan (Dimocarpus longan Lour.) is an important underutilized fruit in India.It is a very rich source of vitamins, nutritional compounds, and flavonoids.The present investigation was carried out at the ICAR-National Research Centre on Litchi, Muzaffarpur, Bihar.The aim of the investigation was to characterize 20 longan genotypes based on qualitative morphological characteristics.In this experiment, we investigated tree, leaf, flowering, and fruiting characteristics.The results showed that the smooth trunk surface, spreading growth habit, medium tree vigor and branching density, and semicircular crown shape were observed as dominant over others.An irregular branching pattern was observed in all the studied longan genotypes.Leaf characteristics also showed great variability among studied genotypes.The panicle initiation was observed in February, and the duration ranged from 8 to 13 days.The duration of hermaphrodite functional male and functional female flower was observed from 11 to 15 days and 10 to 13 days, respectively.LGC-6 and LGC-18 genotypes exhibited early fruiting, high fruit intensity, and sweet aril.The observed variability within studied traits might be due to their genetic constitution as well as to the climatic condition of the particular area.Therefore, based on this study, these morphological characteristics can be utilized as an effective tool for identification of various longan genotypes or varieties.