摘要：In India cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz.) is extensively cultivated as an annual tuberous root crop for both food and industrial uses. Study was aimed to explore and collect the adapted landraces of cassava available in Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and to characterise the existing variability with particular reference to amylose for industrial applications. A total of 52 landraces were collected from various parts of Western Ghats and significant variations for morphological, root and root quality traits were observed. Analysis on quality parameters revealed that, amylose content ranged from 14.4% to 30.4% with an average of 22.0%. Landraces Adukku Muttan and Ullii chigappan showed low amylose content (14.4%) which is highly amenable for paper, textiles and plywood industries. Landraces with yellow pulp had high carotenoids can be used for culinary purpose by the local peoples. Cluster analysis grouped the landraces into five clusters and the number of accessions varied from 2 to 26. Knowledge on the variability in amylose content and phenotypic diversity for root traits increases the efficiency of the cassava breeding programmes by way of utilising them for industrial purpose and also helps in developing core collections which makes handling of germplasm easy for plant breeders. Diversity in amylose content may help in finding appropriate industrial utility and to formulate efficient quality improvement programme.
