Effect of seed morphometric variability on germination and seedling characteristics of Prosopis cineraria (l.) Druce under arid condition of Rajasthan

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted to study the influence of various seed morphometric traits viz., size, shape, weight, thickness and its orientation of Prosopis cineraria population collected from arid zone of Rajasthan. A wide range of variability was observed among the individuals within population for various seed characters. The seeds were randomly selected and grouped into eight classes (S1 to S8) based on size, shape and thickness. The seed length varied from 7.9 mm (S1) to 4.26 mm (S4). Maximum seed breadth recorded as 4.9 mm (S1) whereas, minimum was 3.33 mm (S7). Thickness of seeds ranged between 1.53 to 1.1 mm, while hundred seed weight varied between 0.64 (S1) to 0.40 g (S7). Eight classes of Prosopis cineraria seeds were sown in the pots, among the seed classes, S1 class of seeds exhibited maximum germination (70%) followed by S2 and S3 where as S8 class seeds exhibited minimum and poor germination percentage (10%) followed by S7 and S4. Maximum shoot length, root length and collar diameter were also recorded in S1 class seeds. Therefore, seed size can be used as a parameter for predicting germination and seedling growth rate both in nursery and field conditions.