Variation in Seed and Seedling Traits of Celtis australis, a Multipurpose Tree, in Central Himalaya, India

Abstract

Seeds of Celtis australis were collected from 13 different sources, ranging from 550 to 1980 masl, in Central Himalaya, India. Significant (p = 0.05) variations were observed for seed traits among provenances. However, among various characters, seed weight exhibited maximum variation between seed populations compared to other morphological characters. Between provenances, seed weight ranged from 47.8 to 83.1 g/1000 seed, with mean value of 66.9 ± 10.7 g/1000 seed. Significant (p = 0.01) positive correlation was found between morphological characters of seeds including seed weight and elevational range of seed source. For one year old seedlings, average shoot and root growth was 61.1 ± 13.3 and 30.5 ± 5.4 cm, respectively, irrespective of provenance variation. Inter-comparing biomass yield of the seedlings with altitude, average biomass production was 8.4 ± 2.5, 9.4 ± 3.3 and 12.7 ± 1.7 g/plant, respectively, for low (550-1000 masl), middle (1050-1250 masl) and high (1350-1980 masl) altitudinal populations. Significant (p = 0.01) positive correlation between growth performance of seedlings and altitude of the seed source was recorded. Across the provenances, shoots had the highest proportion of total biomass (42.3%), followed by leaves (32.6%) and roots (24.6%). Among various provenances, Badiyargaon, Agroda, Guptakashi, Jakholi, Gajeli, Srinagar and Palampur populations produced heavier seedlings and grew faster compared to seedlings of other sources.

Variation in Seed and Seedling Traits among Fifteen Chinese Provenances of Magnolia officinalis

“…Leaf number and leaf dry weight/plant varied significantly among provenance of M. officinalis. Similar observations have also been documented to leaf biomass of Acacia mangium and Celtis australis (Salazar, 1989;Singh, 2006).…”

Impact of Environmental Factors and Altitude on Growth and Reproductive Characteristics of Teak (Tectona grandis Linn. f.) in Southern India

“…It has been well established in the literature that seeds of a single species when collected from different sources and different altitudes differ in viability, germination, growth and biomass (Isik 1986;Singh et al 2006). Similarly in teak, the seed size, weight, length and breadth varied significantly based on environmental factors (Nagarajan et al 1996b;Tangmitcharoen and Owens 1997;Palupi and Owens 1998).…”

“…The larger seeds enhanced seed viability, germination, survival rate, growth and biomass in teak seedlings (Singh et al 2006;Gunaga et al 2011;Jijeesh and Sudhakara 2013). Further, teak shows moderate germination (30-50%) in moist areas and poor germination (5-10%) in dry areas (Palanisamy 2014), but the reason for low germination is not clearly understood.…”

Correlation between seed characteristics and biomass production of Moringa oleifera provenances grown in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…Seed weight has little effect on acacia seedling growth in different provenances of Senegalese (Wolde-Mieskel and Sinclair, 2000), Singh et al (2006) have found a positive correlation between morphological characters of Celtis Australis seeds, family Ulmaceae, including seed weight and elevational gradient. Provenances with heavier seed may provide seedlings that will be able to withstand the adverse climatic conditions.…”

“…Many studies have shown that initial seedling size is positively related to seed size, and larger seeds have better seedling survival rate as well as higher competitiveness both within species and among species (Singh et al, 2006). The seed supplies the embryo with sufficient nutrition and energy during germination from the food reserves that the seed acquires during the seed filling phase.…”