ABSTRACT
A total of 50 okra (Abelmoschus Moench., Malvaceae) fruits were collected from major markets within Benin metropolis and evaluated for phenotypic identity, diversity and quality based on standard morphological characters. Ten markets from Ikpoba Okha, Egor, Oredo, Ovia South West and Ovia North East Local Government Areas were visited and includes Uwa, Uselu, Santana, Oliha, Oluku, New Benin, Adesuwa, Adolor, Oba and Ogida. A total of 16 quantitative and qualitative characters (including ratios) including fruit length (cm), fruit width (cm), nature of fruit tip, nature of fruit base, number of ridges on fruit, nature of ridges, pedicel length and nature of pedicel, the diameter of fruit, hairiness of fruit, the colour of the hair on fruit were used to assess the okra fruits. Analysis of variance conducted on the quantitative characters revealed significant variations (at P<0.05) in the okra fruits. These characters and ratio include fruit length, fruit width, length of fruit stalk, pedicel length, the diameter of fruits, number of fresh seeds, the ratio of length of fruit stalk and pedicel length. However, multivariate analysis using principal component analysis and non-metric dimensional scaling revealed no clear cut pattern within and between the okra fruits from different markets within Benin City. The result was further corroborated by the clustering-based dendrogram using Gower similarity measures. The distribution of the okra fruits into groups, based on the morphological traits had no unique geographical relationship. The results may be an indication that the fruits are identical but with significant variations in the fruit phenotype. The patterns observed in the study could be the outcome of the selection and exchange of okra between farmers and other germplasm holders within Benin City and other places close to the city. Future work should focus on increasing the number of characters considered in the current work as well as molecular characterization.
