Variation in seed germination and seedling traits among Myrica esculenta buch. -ham. Ex d. Don populations in Western Himalayas.

Abstract

Crop wild relatives are vital genetic resources for crop improvement and potential candidates for domestication when selecting new crops. The study evaluated seed germination and seedling traits variation among eleven populations in the Western Himalayas. Highly significant variations were observed for all the germination and seedling growth parameters.  Germination percent was higher in Shogi i.e. 31.60%. Seedling length, total biomass and sturdiness quotient were found maximum in Chakala. Dickson quality index was found maximum in Dabara-Baranji. Variations in all seedling parameters could be attributed to the natural population than family except number of nodes, number of leaves, leaf length, leaf breadth, root length and root thickness. Maximum family heritability was observed for leaf length (0.91). Population genetic gain was observed to be higher than family genetic gain. Principal component analysis illustrated seventy nine percent of variation among nursery traits explained by six principal components. Cluster II showed significance for total seedling length, number of secondary roots and shoot biomass. Since none of the populations showed consistent variation for all germination and seedling-related parameters, multiple criteria are required for population /provenance selection for improvement programs. It can be concluded that observed pattern of variation significant impact on the tree improvement gene conservation program of Myrica esculenta populations in future.