Seed parameters study in <em>Commiphora wightii</em> (Arnott)– an important medicinal tree of arid and semi-arid regions of India

Abstract

Commiphora wightii (Arnott) is a critically endangered, dioecious plant and commonly known as Guggal. It has tremendous pharmaceutical and medicinal importance. The sex ratio is extremely skewed towards female plants and male plants are extremely rare. Slow growth, poor seed germination and extremely poor regeneration are some of the contributing factors causing decline in its population. The objective of the present work was to study the seed characters in different genotypes to establish the relationship amongst seed germination, seed colour and seed weight. Guggal plants produce seeds throughout the year but seed yield and viability are higher for seeds produced in winter. Total 1643 mature seeds were collected from nine genotypes (C1, C2, C3, P1, P2, P3, P4, P6 and P9) from Deesa (Gujarat, India) in November-December, 2017. The pooled seed weight data showed that average seed weight of black seeds (0.042 kg) was higher than that of brown (0.031 kg) and white seeds (0.023 kg). Seed germination was also higher in black seeds (17.2%) than in brown seeds (5.5%) whereas white seeds failed to germinate. A significant positive correlation was also observed between seed germination and seed weight. The study on percentage of different seed lobes for each genotype revealed that four lobed seeds were found only in C2 (8.9%) and C3 (3.2%), whereas three lobed seeds were produced by C2 (1.1%), C3 (2.3%) and P9 (1.2%). Other six genotypes produced 100% two lobed seeds. The above results indicated that the seed colour and seed weight influence the seed viability as well as germination. Superior genotypes can be selected on the basis of the seed quality for establishing seed orchard and plantations as conservation strategy.