Vol. 11, Issue 10 (2022)

Author(s):
S Prabakaran and V Gupta

Abstract:
Abrus precatorius (L.) commonly known as Ratti was a perennial herb which was native to Indian sub-continent. Indian National Gene Bank (NGB), National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) conserves 152 accessions (august, 2022) of Ratti collected from the diverse agro-ecological zones of India. The plant has wide range of usage especially in pharmacological industry. In Indian subcontinent, various parts of this plant were traditionally used in Ayurveda and siddha system of medicines. Various Vedic literatures of ancient India had mentioned about its importance in measuring the weight of gold. The present investigation was carried out to assess the morphological variability and analyse the diversity of Ratti germplasm. Apart from this, the study was also focussed to bring out accessions suitable for sole crop and inter-crop cultivation.