**5. Breeding studies**

## **5.1 Mutation breeding in** *Abelmoschus*

Induction of the mutation in plant breeding has become a well-known and important tool to supplement current germplasm and improvement of cultivars for the expression of specific traits. Several improved crop varieties have been released to farmers shows great economic value of the technology of mutation breeding [67]. From the past 70 years, near about 2252 mutant varieties from 175 crop plants including cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fibers, fruits, vegetables and ornamentals have been released in different countries throughout the world [68]. Induced mutations using different chemical and physical mutagens were studied by many breeders in *Abelmoschus*. Induction of mutation with the help of gamma radiations, ethyl methane sulphonate and diethyl sulphate in *Abelmoschus esculentus* cv. PusaSawani was reported [69] and 35 true breeding mutants were isolated [70]. The physical mutagen, Gamma radiations with different doses were useful to induced mutations for the screening of yellow vein mosaic disease resistant [71] and to develop agronomical and yield characters in okra [72–76]. Ethyl methane sulphonate was greatly affected most of the agronomic and yield characters in M2 generation [77].

### **5.2 Crossability study among different species of** *Abelmoschus*

Interspecific hybridization plays a vital role in the increasing genetic variation by interchanging genetic information in between different species, which is helpful *Phytochemical and Nutritional Studies in the Genus* Abelmoschus *Medik DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93019*

to solve taxonomic relationship and also useful in preparation of genetic linkage map [78]. However artificial crossing methods are easy and simple in *Abelmoschus* but the rate of success is still an important constraint in the interspecific hybridization. Earlier reports revealed that crossing between cultivated species and wild species of *Abelmoschus* is more difficult. The breeding possibilities among the four species and one variety of *Abelmoschus* were studied [79] by Pal et al. The sterile hybrid obtained from the cross between *Abelmoschus esculentus* (2n = 130) and *A. tetraphyllus* (2n = 138) [80], partially fertile and resistant to yellow vein mosaic (YVM) virus was obtained from crossed between *A. manihot* and *A. manihot* ssp., *manihot* with the cultivated okra, *A. esculentus* cv. "PusaSawani" [81]. The interspecific crosses seems to be a major cause of variation perceived in cultivated species that are, *A. esculentus, A. manihot* and *A. moschatus* [82]. During reciprocal crosses between *A. caillei* and *A. tetraphyllus* 69–76 meiotic bivalents were obtained in F1 hybrids [83]. The pollen germination and pollen tube growth behaviour with respect to seed set between four species of *Abelmoschus* revealed that, *A. caillei* may be served as potential connection parent for the transfer of alien gene for the okra breeding programmes [84].
