Leaf Morphological Diversity and Phenotypic Characterization of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) Genotypes in the Rayalaseema Region of Andhra Pradesh, India

The study characterised leaf morphological diversity among 26 jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) genotypes maintained at the College of Horticulture, Anantharajupeta, Andhra Pradesh, India. Quantitative and qualitative leaf traits were evaluated under a randomised block design with three replications. Leaf blade length ranged from 8.92 to 19.98 cm, with the maximum in JAP-1, while leaf blade width ranged from 5.54 to 10.78 cm, with the maximum in Yellow round. Petiole length varied from 1.37 to 3.07 cm, with Eddi pasand recording the highest value. SPAD readings ranged from 47.62 to 99.11, with the highest value in ARPJ-7. Elliptic leaf blades, acuminate apices and entire margins were the predominant qualitative characteristics. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a positive association between leaf blade length and width (r = 0.60). The first two principal components explained 71.3% of the total variation, while hierarchical cluster analysis revealed similarities among genotypes based on the measured traits. These findings provide baseline information for characterising leaf diversity and identifying contrasting genotypes for further evaluation and jackfruit germplasm conservation in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, India.