Germination Response of Jojoba Seeds under Different Temperature Conditions of the Cholistan Desert of Bahawalpur

Abstract

J ojoba is an economical desert plant, which can be grown successfully in arid and semi-arid deserts. It is a dioeciously, perennial, evergreen, woody shrub scientifically known as Simmondsia chinensis. Jojoba is considering very precious plant that can survive under drought, saline water, extreme hot climatic conditions and resists pest attack. An interesting fact about the jojoba plant is that nature has covered its leaves with a waxy coating/sheet, which helps to reduce the evapotranspiration from its leaves thus reducing the loss of moisture at a very minimum level. This probably is one of the most important reasons for its survival under desert conditions. Jojoba seed used in cosmetic industries because it contains 40 to 50% oil which 'is useful for lotions, massage oils, lipsticks, smoothing creams and nail polishes. It, s also has potential for lubricant, printing and pharmaceutical industries (Benzioni et al., 1999). The oil extracted from Jojoba is usually called as "Liquid Gold". The chemical composition of jojoba oil resembles that of whale fish oil. As a strict ban is being observed on the hunting of whale fish at the international level, Abstract | Among arid zone plant species, Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis), being an evergreen, perennial, multi-stemmed, and multipurpose plant has attracted wide attention due to its economic value, potential byproducts and ability to withstand vagaries of the desert environment. By realizing the economic importance of this high-value desert plant, a pioneer study on seed germination response to various agro-climatic factors was conducted at the Arid Zone Research Institute Bahawalpur. Healthy jojoba seeds were sown at the fortnightly intervals by dividing the whole year into 16 treatments to identify the optimum sowing time for the Cholistan desert of Bahawalpur. The results revealed that maximum germination rate of 85.63%, 85.93%, and 82.83% were found in treatment 16 th September during the whole study period (2011-14). The 16 th of March, 16 th September, and 1 st August were the other suitable sowing times for jojoba as these showed 82.37%, 75.47%, and 71.57% of germination respectively.