Small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton), a perennial cash crop exhibits an array of natural variations. Malabar, Mysore and Vazhukka are the three major cultivated forms/natural varieties of cardamom, with prostrate, erect and semi-erect panicles respectively. In terms of several qualitative and quantitative features, the Malabar variety is relatively superior to the three varieties. However, the major morphologically discriminative characteristic, panicle orientation, is only visible until the plant has reached physiological maturity. A variety-specific marker was developed and defined in this study for the rapid and accurate differentiation of Malabar varieties at the juvenile stage. In total, 35 ISSR primers were initially screened in 50 small cardamom accessions and two outgroup types, with 18 of them yielding distinct, reproducible profiles. In individuals of the Malabar variety, the ISSR primer (UBC 866–1500 bp) generated an intact, distinct, variety-specific amplicon, which was therefore cloned, sequenced and characterized. Small cardamom accessions from the Malabar variety (prostrate panicle) from different geographic regions, as well as varieties with erect panicles and hybrids, were used to validate the developed SCAR (sequence characterized amplified region) marker(named SBBT4F/SBBT3R). Consistent amplification of a distinct 1350 bp fragment in Malabar variants validated the marker's specificity. According to the findings, the SCAR marker is promising in identifying cardamom varieties with prostrate panicles (Malabar) and thus is expected to make significant contributions in the authentication of varietal selection from F1 hybrids during breeding programmes by reducing the time and labor involved in hybridization experiments in this perennial crop.

小豆蔻 ( Elettaria cardamomum)(L.) Maton)，一种多年生经济作物，表现出一系列自然变异。马拉巴尔、迈索尔和瓦朱卡是豆蔻的三大栽培形式/天然品种，分别具有平卧、直立和半直立的圆锥花序。就几个定性和定量特征而言，马拉巴尔品种相对优于三个品种。然而，主要的形态判别特征，穗方向，只有在植物达到生理成熟时才可见。本研究开发并定义了品种特异性标记，用于在幼年阶段快速准确地区分马拉巴尔品种。总共，最初在 50 个小豆蔻种质和两种外群类型中筛选了 35 个 ISSR 引物，其中 18 个产生了独特的、可重复的配置文件。在 Malabar 品种的个体中，ISSR 引物（UBC 866-1500 bp）产生了一个完整的、独特的、品种特异性的扩增子，因此被克隆、测序和表征。来自不同地理区域的 Malabar 品种（匍匐穗）的小豆蔻种质，以及具有直立穗和杂种的品种，用于验证开发的 SCAR（序列特征扩增区域）标记（命名为 SBBT4F/SBBT3R）。Malabar 变体中一个独特的 1350 bp 片段的一致扩增验证了该标记的特异性。根据调查结果，