Papaver Somniferum Essay

Introduction: Papaver somniferum L. is well known cultivated plants known to mankind since ages. It is used as a drug and medicine since the beginning of civilization (Husain and Sharma, 1983). The poppy or the Papaver is one of the genera of the family Papaveraceae and sub-family Papaveroideae. This genus is known to contain latex tissues or laticiferous system. The plant contains about eighty different tetrahydro-benzylisoquinoline-derived alkaloids, including several other of medicinal importance. Opium poppy is still a well known commercial source for the narcotic drug morphine, cough suppressant codeine, antitumor agent noscapine (Ye et al., 1998) and thebaine, which is frequently used as an intermediate for the semi-synthesis of other pentacyclicmorphinan-based drugs. For improvement of any character, like seed yield in poppy, it is necessary to depict the interrelationship between the yield character and its associated character. The correlation coefficient is used to find out the degree and direction of the relationship between two or more variables. It assists in measuring the mutual relationship between two or more variables, but not able to determining the cause and effect relationship of

Conclusion:
Overall in conclusions the most important trait seed yield is positively and highly significant associated with straw yield followed by morphine content with capsule index and narcotine content, codeine content with narcotine content. On the other hand negative association was also recorded between days to 50% flowering and number of capsule/plant followed by peduncle length, plant height etc. The highest direct effect was recorded through poppy straw yield on seed yield. Therefore, above mentioned genetic parameter may be utilized for genetic improvement of opium