STATUS OF TROPICAL TREE SEED PROBLEMS IN INDIA- CHALLENGES

AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR GERMPLASM CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE UTILISATION

B. Gurudev Singh
Scientist Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding Coimbatore

 Species Diversity Seed Problems Species identified by APFORGEN

Phytogeographic regions of India

Western Himalayas Eastern Himalayas Indus plain Gangetic plain Assam Central India Malabar Decaan Andamans

Western ghats
Location : 8 20 to 8 40 N latitude 73 to 77 E Longitude Extent : 1600 km long with 5 to 10 km breadth Highest peak : Anaimudi in Kerala, 2652 States covered : Gujarat, Maharastra, Goa,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala Floristic regions : 1. Western ghats from River Tapti to Goa 2. Kalinadi to Coorg 3. Nilgiris 4. Anamallai, Palani and Cardamom hills

Flora of Western ghats

Out of the total 2,40,000 species , about 45,000species occur in India Out of 45,000 species of plants about 15,000 are vascular plants, 600 Pteridophytes, 2700 Bryophytes, 5000 Algae, 20,000Fungi,and 1600 Lichens

Of these 15000 flowering plants,Western ghats account for 3500 species. Of these about, 490 are arborescent taxa

Western ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala

What to conserve

CPT for higher fruit yield

Branch of a CPT

140 fruits/foot length of branch

They were identified after proper comparison of fruit yield with the check trees of the same diameter class growing around the CPT.

Seeds of various seed sources

Dharmapuri source

Tanjore source

Tirunelveli source

Thiruvannamalai source

Variation in Fruit weight

30 25
Frequency

20 15 10 5 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 50 70 90 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 27 0

Weight (g)

Variation in Seed Weight

30
Frequency

25 20 15 10 5 0
11 13 15
Weight(g)

17

Variation in fruit to seed ratio Highest ratio 21.06 (in Karur, tree no 2) 40 35 30
Frequency

25 20 15 10 5 0 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24

Fruit to seed ratio

Variation in Azadirachtin content

Highest Azadirachtin content 14524 ppm(in Karur, tree no 9)

20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Frequency

10500

11500

12500

13500

Azadirachtin content in ppm

14500

1500

2500

3500

4500

5500

6500

7500

8500

9500

Variation in oil content

Highest oil content 51.8% (in Tiruvannamalai, tree no 4)
35 30

Frequency

25 20 15 10 5 0

12

18

24

30

36

42

48

Oil content (%)

DIFFICULTIES WITH TREE SEED RESEARCH

Poor viability
Considerable dormancy Full germination can take a long time Non-homogeneous seed lots Limited seed supply

Variable supply (Inter-Annual Variation)

The seed collection is usually taken as a last minute activity Invariably the seed collection is entrusted to a private contractor or to the lowest cadre personal.

The seeds are collected from whatever easily available source. To meet the target, all the seeds are collected from the whatever trees available, sometimes all the fruits from a single tree.

The money for collection of seeds is paid based on the weight (Quantity), rather on quality The cost of seed in a plantation programme is less than 1% of total plantation activity.

It costs just the same whether you establish the plantation from a good seed or bad seed, but there is remarkable difference in the gains.

COLLECTION OF SEEDS

SEED COLLECTION
What to collect and how to identify the species in the field Where to collect, by studying the distribution of the species When to collect, by studying the fruiting and flowering characterstics
How much seed is to be collected What methods should be followed for collection of seeds

Tree types/varieties

Casuarina equisetifolia

Female inflorescence

Male inflorescence

Tree sex patterns

Eucalyptus

Artocarpus

Fruit/Seed sizes

Determination of optimum time for seed collection

Fruiting : July

Greenish Yellow fruits of Neem

Determination of optimum time for seed collection

Fruiting : May-July & Oct-Sep

Casuarina fruits at different maturity stages

Casuarina cones at optimum maturity stage

STORAGE OF SEEDS

Needs for storage of seeds Up to one year 1-5 years - For best sowing season - For sowing in poor seed years

Long-term storage -For genetic conservation

Orthodox Vs Recalcitrant seed

Characteristics Orthodox Life span Long Size of the seed Usually small Storage Easy Seed moisture Low Temperature sensitivity Low Recalcitrant Short Big Difficult High High

1. Orthodox

Prosopis juliflora

Cassia fistula

Acacia nilotica

2. Recalcitrant seeds
Vateria - Immature fruits

Vateria - mature fruits

Dipterocarpus bourdillonii

Vateria - germination

Effect of storage temperature and moisture content on germination of Persea macrantha seeds (after 15 days of storage)
45 40 35

Germination %

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Moisture content %

Ambient

20 C

10 C

0 to -5 C

Storability of Madhuca longifolia seeds - Recalcitrant

90 80 70
Germination %

Ambient, 32%MC 20 C, 32%MC 10 C, 32 %MC Ambient, 24%MC 20 C, 24%MC 10 C, 24 %MC Ambient, 20%MC 20 C, 20%MC 10 C, 20%MC

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 Days 50 60 70 80

3. Intermediate

Azadirachta indica

Storage of Intermediate seeds - Neem

80 70 60
Germination %

Ambient,5% Ambient,7% Ambient,9% 20 C,5% 20 C,7% 20 C,9% 10 C,5% 10 C,7% 10 C,9% 0 C,5% 0 C,7% 0 C,9%
2 4 Months 8 10

50 40 30 20 10 0

Azadirachta indica
The seeds have a very short viability. When the seeds are stored with high moisture content, the low temperature (below 0C) will have a detrimental effect on viability. Seeds properly processed can be stored for 6 months comfortably without much loss of viability

Bambusa arundinacea

Flowering habits

Seed filling

0
60
52

1
57

3
Empty fruits

2003
47 44 41

Fruits with one seed Fruits with >1 seed

50

40

Percentage

40

30
23 25

21

22
16

20
12

10

0 Orchard 03 SPA1 Seed source SPA2 SPA3

Grading of Casuarina seeds

Method Grade Recovery % 42.86 57.14 64.1 24.7 10.1 1.1 70.7 29.3
Germination %

SEd

CD

Seed size grading (Gr1 >2.25mm; GrII<2.25mm) Specific gravity separator

Grade -I Grade -II Grade-I Grade-II Grade-III Grade-IV

54.3 49.0 59.25* 19.25* 2.237 10.00 13.75 26.00* 5.00 3.902 9.547 5.06

Liquid flotation in water

Floater Sinker

Liquid flotation in Petroleum benzene

Floater
Sinker

52.0
48.0 -

16.50
3.471 89.25* 44.00 8.49

Bulk

Sinkers

Floaters

Conservation strategies
CONSERVATION
IN-SITU EX-SITU

LIVE PLANTS

TISSUES

SEEDS

Bot gardens Arboreta Germplasnm bank

Cultur collection

SEED BANK

Species prioritization
FAO country report, 2002 identified 48 highly important tree species with multiple uses. 50 species prioritised for conservation, improvement or seed procurement at both national and regional levels arrived at by APFORGEN, from a total of 136 species. Genera Eucalyptus, Artocarpus, Acacias, Rhododendron and Rhizophora cited as species requiring immediate attention. Bamboo family considered as a whole to encompass the different genera and species available in the country.

Table 1. List of priority species identified by the South East Asian Moving Workshop in 2001 upgraded for South Asia and China through an IPGRIAPAFRI consultation process in 2002.
Species Conservation status IUCN/CITES Major Uses

Acacia catechu Acacia nilotica Acer caesium Adina cordifolia Ailanthus excelsa Albizia lebbeck Albizia odoratissima Albizia procera Alnus nitida Artocarpus heterophyllus Azadirachta indica Bamboo Bassia latifolia

Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP, Medicine Timber Timber, NTFP

Bombax ceiba Cassia siamea Casuarina equisetifolia Cedrus deodara Celtis eriocarpa Chloroxylon swietenia Chukrasia tabularis Dalbergia bariensis Dalbergia latifolia Dalbergia sissoo Diospyros ebenum Eucalyptus spp Fraxinus xanthoxyloides Gmelina arborea Grewia asiatica Hopea odorata

CITES + IUCN CITES CITES + IUCN CITES + IUCN CITES IUCN

Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP NTFP Timber Timber Timber Timber Timber Timber Timber, NTFP Timber Timber Timber Timber

Lagerstroemia ovalifolia Lagerstroemia speciosa Pinus wallichiana subsp. karakorma Prosopis juliflora Prosopis cineraria Prunus padas Pterocarpus indicus Pterocarpus macrocarpus Pterocarpus marsupium Rhizophora sp Rhododendron Santalum album Saussurea lappa Schima wallichii Schleichera oleosa Shorea robusta -

CITES + IUCN CITES

Timber Timber Timber, NTFP

Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP, Medicine Timber Timber Timber

IUCN IUCN CITES + IUCN -

Timber, NTFP, Medicine NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP Timber, Medicine Timber, NTFP Timber, NTFP, Medicine Timber, NTFP

Taxus baccata Tectona grandis Terminalia chebula Xylia xylocarpa Ziziphus nummularia

CITES -

Medicine Timber Timber, NTFP, Medicine Timber NTFP

 24 % of the APFORGEN identified species are of prior concern from conservation point of view.
CITES Chloroxylon swietenia Dalbergia bariensis IUCN

Dalbergia latifolia
Diospyros ebenum Gmelina arborea Hopea odorata

Pterocarpus indicus Pterocarpus macrocarpus

Pterocarpus marsupium

Rhododendron Santalum album Tectona grandis

Information on seed biology of the listed species

Available 40 40
33 23 17 10 10 12 27 21

Not available
38 29

Seed Years

Fruiting

Natural Regeneration

Seed Processing

Germination

Flowering

Seed Storage Behaviour of the species

Orthodox Acacaia catechu Probable Orthodox Cedrus deodar Orthodox uncertain Adina cordifolia Recalcitrant Artocarus
heterophyllus

Recalcitrant

Intermediate Unknown

Uncertain

Uncertain

Schima wallichii

Azadirachta Acer indica cesium

15

17

Seed Storage Behaviour of the species

30%

34%

10% 2% 8% 2% 12%

Orthodox Recalcitrant Uncertain Unknown

Probable Orthodox Recalcitrant

Orthodox Uncertain Intermediate Uncertain