Numerical Analysis of Variation Among Accessions of Okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench], Malvaceae

Thirty quantitative and qualitative characters were observedon 20 accessions of okra which consisted of 19 accessions fromdifferent geographical areas of Nigeria and one accession fromIndia. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Single LinkageCluster Analysis (SLCA) were employed to analyse the variationpatterns in these accessions. The first three principal componentsaccounted for 49.94% of the total variation while the firstfive axes accounted for 65.7% SLCA summarized the relationshipsamong the accessions at various levels of similarity into adendrogram, while the accessions were sorted into six distinctgroups by the FASTCLUS technique and the mean percentage similaritybetween some groups suggested some degree of phenetic resemblance. Abelmoschus esculentus, okra, variation, principal component analysis, cluster analysis