Identification of promosing accessions for diversified uses in tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius)*

Abstract

Eighty-six genotypes of tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius L. ) gemlplasm were evaluated for fibre quality parameters like 'fineness. and strength along with fibre yield, biomass and stick weight using 3 popular varieties, viz 'JRO 524', 'JRO 632' and 'JRO 878' as standard. The country wise origin of the 86 accessions oftossajute gennplasm indicates that these accessions represent a set of geographically diverse lines collected from different parts of Asia, Africa and South America. Five germplasm accessions were identified each possessing very fine quality fibre (2.06 tex to 2.37 tex) and higher biomass yield (263.57 to 297.30 g /plant) compared with the best check varieties like'JRO 524', 'JRO 878' and'JRO 632'. These identified gennplasm can be utilized in the breeding programme for quality improvement and high biomass yield in tossajute varieties. Most ofthese germplasm identified for superior fineness and biomass yield were collected from African countries, namely Kenya and Tanzania that are considered to be the center of origin for tossa jute.