Floral Characterization of Exotic Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Germplasm in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Characterization of germplasm is an important initial step towards proper utilization of genetic resources in plant breeding. Compared to vegetative traits, reproductive morphology, especially pistil traits are considered a reliable criteria in taxonomical studies of higher plants. The objective of the present study was to characterize exotic tea (Camellia sinensis L.) germplasm accessions which are conserved ex-situ in the field gene bank in Sri Lanka. Fifty four accessions selected from the exotic germplasm collection, were characterized using 14 floral traits to discriminate them into three major taxa. Of the material studied, 39 accessions possess geniculate type styles, four with united styles while 11 accessions recorded ascending styles represented by Camellia sinensis var. sinensis (China type), Camellia sinensis var. asamica (Assam type) and Camellia sinensis sp. lasiocalyx (Cambod type), respectively. Results revealed that the exotic collection was predominantly represented by China type (72%) followed by Cambod type (20%). Significant variations of floral traits viz width of petals, length of column and length of style arms were detected among three taxa. On the contrary, variation of other floral traits among three taxa was not significant It has been observed from previous studies that local tea germplasm is predominantly represented by accessions of Cambod types followed by Assam types. Hence, availability of more China type accessions in the exotic germplasm will immensely useful as parental lines in future tea breeding programmes.