Comparative morphological characterization of Curcuma longga L. (luyang dilaw) accessions in Palawan and Iligan City [Philippines]

Curcuma longa L. is an agricultural crop that is being traded commercially and has great potential in the market for the utilization for wellness in health, cosmetics, condiments and other beneficial purposes for humans. In Palawan, Palawenos utilized, processed and exported this plant to Vietnam. However, government regulations and restrictions limited the shipment to Vietnam because of some technical problems on whether this plant is an agricultural crop or a wild species present only in Palawan. Under Palawan environmental law specifically, the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan, the law and wildlife act prohibits the collection of wild plants without permit especially if the plant is endemic in the province. Thus, this study was primarily conducted to resolve the issue on the botanical classification of this sources of turmeric here in Palawan. Specifically, the objectives were the following: (1) to compare the morphological characteristics of Luyang Dilaw from Iligan City, Mindanao and of Palawan. (2) to determine the morphological differences to elucidate if the two are the same or different species, and lastly, (3)to be able to provide information on the morphology of the two sources of turmeric. The results showed that phenotypically the two plant accessions do not have major differences in terms of physical appearance of the vegetative parts. However, the accession from Iligan showed dormancy in terms of germination and photoperiodism. The Palawan accession developed flowers but for Iligan it did not show any floral parts from the time it was planted until harvesting. These findings are not yet conclusive based on the result of the two collections. Thus, further studies must be conducted to fully assess the identity of these two accessions by conducting chemical and molecular studies. In order to resolve taxonomic problems of this plant as alternative sources of livelihood for the poor families in Palawan.