Morphological Characterization of Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis) Collected from District Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis) is a species belonging to genus Aloe and Liliaceae family, one of the most valuable medicinal and useful plants in the world. The current research was aimed at analyzing the morphological features of 7 sites of District Bagh, Azar Jammu and Kashmir (i.e. Dhirkot, Jahala, Banipasari, Awaira, Nindrai, Rehra and Koteri) on wild Aloe vera ecotypes. The study was conducted in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in the Laboratory of Horticulture Department, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Morphological parameters such as plant height (cm), plant weight (g), number of leaves per plant, leaf area (cm 2 ), leaf length (cm), leaf weight (g) and gel waste ratio were measured and compared statistically with ANOVA with means compared at P = 0.05 using LSD. Findings showed that there were very significant location differences in all morphological characteristics. The plants that were collected in Jahaala had the highest plant height (22.20 cm), plant weight (159.00 g), number of leaves (11.00), area of the leaf (85.06 cm 2), length of leaf (10.58 cm), weight of leaf (7.76 g), and ratio of gel waste (2.86:7.76), whereas D These results imply that geographically determined climatic and edaphic conditions also play important roles in morphological performance of Aloe vera ecotypes in Azad Kashmir which will be a foundation of choosing high-yield ecotypes used in commercial production in the area.