Evaluation of turmeric (Curcuma longaL.) genotypes for yield and curcumin content

Evaluation of genotypes for existing variability and to create variability among genotypes is a vital step, to start fresh crop improvement programme.Fifty five genotypes were evaluated under augmented design with two checks viz., BSR-2 and CO-2.The study revealed that significant difference exists for all the traits studied i.e. plant height, pseudostem girth, number of tillers, number of leaves, soluble protein, weight of mother rhizomes, weight of primary rhizomes, yield, curcumin content except for total chlorophyll content.The fresh rhizome yield was maximum in genotype CL-195 (798 g) followed by CL-74 (978 g).With respect to curcumin content, CL-78 (2.79 %) was identified as line with high curcumin content.Both the factors yield and quality (Curcumin content) gets optimized in the genotypes CL-49 and CL-22.