Cardamom Wild Genotypes

Cardamom is a herbaceous, perennial monocotyledonous plant originating from the Western Ghats of South India and Sri Lanka. Cardamoms comprise the basic chromosome number X = 12 and 2n = 48, a balanced tetraploid in nature. Cardamom is divided into 3 genera: Elettaria, Amomum, and Aframomum. Diversity has been reported in the wild and cultivated forms of cardamom, especially those found in southern India. Wild cardamom genotypes are known to be rich in some novel alleles that could positively contribute to the genetic improvement of the cultivars. It is believed that the genetic materials from the wild relatives could be crucial in developing new breeds and improving the existing varieties to further generate superior cultivars with desirable characteristics, including tolerance to pests and diseases. In the search for productive genotypes, there is a need to collect and evaluate germplasms to identify the level of variation in the cardamom germplasm. Various studies on the analysis of intraspecific variation in cardamom using genome size, cytological studies, and molecular marker data revealed the existence of genetic variability among cardamom accessions and a significant difference in their genome size. These include molecular tools such as simple sequence repeats markers (ISSR) used in analyzing cardamom accessions and revealed variability in yield traits. Genetic resource conservation aims at maintaining species with a known or potential value to ensure that it is accessible for use to both current and future generations to ensure that it is accessible for use to both current and future generations.