DUS CHARACTERIZATION OF IGKV RELEASED VARIETIES OF LINSEED (LINUM USITATISSIMUM L.)

Large numbers of linseed varieties have been released from IGKV, AICRP on Linseed since 1967.In general, all varieties of linseed have greater similarity for their plant morphological features.Different varieties have unique characteristics, which can be preferred for distinguishing them.The need of distinctness, uniformity and stability are evaluated based on morphological characteristics.Describing the characteristics of a crop species based on standard descriptors is effective for better utilization and conservation of germplasm.Moreover, morphological characterization studies play an important role in the management of crop diversity.So, it is essential not only to conserve the genotypes but also to explore the gene pool of linseed for breeding purposes.Concentrating on the preceding facts study was undertaken for the characterization of 27 diverse linseed genotypes in Randomized complete block design with three replications during rabi season 2019-20 in twenty-seven IGKV released linseed genotypes at the Research Cum Instructional Farm, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding, IGKV, Raipur (C.G.) to characterize the morphological characters based on DUS descriptors as per International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) descriptors 2011, International Flax Data Base (IFDB) descriptors 2006 and catalogue on linseed germplasm, Project Coordinating Unit (Linseed), Kanpur 2010.