Research Article | Published: 01 September 2004

Seed germination studies of Salvadora persica and Jatropha curcas

J. C. Dagar, Hari Bhagwan and Yogendra Kumar

Indian Journal of Forestry | Volume: 27 | Issue: 3 | Page No. 283-289 | 2004
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54207/bsmps1000-2004-P889BA | Cite this article

Abstract

In nature the seeds of Salvadora persica and Jatropha curcas possess diversity in their size. Based on their weight, the seeds were segregated into seven categories. In S. persica these ranged from 20 to 90 mg per seed while in J. curcas ranged from 100 to 800 mg per seed. When put to germination, there was no germination at all in seeds weighing up to 30 mg per seed in S. persica and up to 300 mg per seed in J. curcas. The germination was found to be 22, 29, 49, 64, 89 and 100% in S. persica in rest of the six categories while in J. curcas it was found to be 20, 30, 60, 85 and 100% in remaining five categories. The seedling development in terms of height and fresh biomass also increased with the increase in seed weight. When treated with salt solution adjusted to different pH levels (2 to 11), the seed germination was found highest in both species at pH 8.0. The germination was faster at pH from 6 to 8 when compared to other levels. The effect of quality of light on seed germination showed maximum germination in natural light in both the species followed by yellow, green, red and blue lights, respectively. The seed germination was initiated after one week when seeds were treated with saline water of electric conductivity of 2 and 4 dS m-1 in both the species while on higher salinity the germination started during second week. The seed germination was lower at higher salinity. After 4th week of germination the shoot length, root length, collar diameter, fresh and dry biomass of shoot and root were decreased with increase in the salinity of irrigation water.

Keywords

Access Options

250/-

Buy Full Access in HTML Format

Instant access to the full article.

Get access to the full version of this article. Buy Full Access in HTML Format

References

1. Adam, P. (1990). Salt Marsh Ecology. Cambridge University Press, New York.

2. Ahlawat, A.S. and Dagar, J.C. (1980). Effect of different pH, light qualities and some growth regulators on seed germination of Bidens biternata (Lour.) Merr. and Sherff. Indian Forester, 106(9): 617-620.

Google Scholar

3. Ahlawat, A.S.; Dagar, J.C. and Singh, V.P. (1979). Seed germination studies on Parthenium hysterophorus Linn. Proc. Indian Natn. Sci. Acad. B 45(6): 613-616.

Google Scholar

4. Ayers, R.S. and Westcot, D.W. (1985). Water quality for agriculture, irrigation and drainage. Paper 29, FAO, Rome. 97 pp.

Google Scholar

5. Beadle, N.C.W. (1952). Studies in halophytes. I. The germination of the seed and establishment of the seedlings of five species of Atriplex in Australia. Ecology, 33: 49-62.  https://doi.org/10.2307/1931251

Google Scholar

6. Chauhan, J.P. and Raina, V. (1980). Effect of seed weight on germination and growth of Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii Sargent.). Indian Forester, 106(1): 53-59.

Google Scholar

7. CSIR (1990). Plants for Reclamation of Wastelands. Pub. & Inf. Directorate, Central Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi, pp. 684.

Google Scholar

8. Czabator, F.J. (1962). Germination value: an index combining speed and completeness of Pine seed germination. Forest Science, 8(4): 368.

Google Scholar

9. Dagar, J.C.; Rao, A.N. and Singh, V.P. (1977). Effects of some growth regulators and chemicals on seed germination of Parthenium hysterophorus Linn. Geobios, 4(3): 87-88.

Google Scholar

10. Dar, F.A.; Gera, M. and Gera, N. (2002). Effect of seed grading on germination pattern of some multi-purpose tree species of Jammu region. Indian Forester, 128(5): 509-513.

Google Scholar

11. Ghosh, R.C.; Singh, G. and Sharma, K.K. (1976). Effect of seed grading by size on germination and growth of pine seedlings. Indian Forester, 102(12):  850-858. 

Google Scholar

12. Kandya, A.K. (1978). Relationship among seed weight and various growth factors in Pinus oocarpus Schiede seedlings. Indian Forester, 104(8): 561-567.

Google Scholar

13. Mohammed, S. and Sen, D.N. (1988). Variations in two forms of Trianthema portulacastrum of the Indian desert. Science and Culture, 54: 309-310.

Google Scholar

14. Neumann and Stein, G. (1957). Action of blue light on the germination of seeds. Nature, 180: 609-610.  https://doi.org/10.1038/180609b0

Google Scholar

15. Pandya, S.M. (1971). Effect of some hormones and chemicals on seed germination of Celosia argentea Linn. Indian Biologist, 3: 21-24.

16. Rollin, P. (1959). Influence de l’acide gibberellique. Sur. Bull. Soc. Franc. Physiol. Veg., 5: 24-26.

Google Scholar

17. Singh, V.P. and Billore, S.K. (1975). Effect of pH on germination of four common grass species of Ujjain (India). J. Range Manage., 28: 497-498.  https://doi.org/10.2307/3897234

Google Scholar

18. Singh, V.P. and Mall, L.P. (1977). Seed germination studies in Fagopyrum esculentum Moench. I. Role of light and temperature. Proc. Indian Natn. Sci. Acad. 43B: 37-43.

Google Scholar

19. Stanton, M.L. (1985). Seed size and emergence time within a stand of wild radish (Rhaphanus sativus L.) - the establishment of fitness hierachi. Oecologia (Berlin), 67: 524-531.  https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00790024

Google Scholar

20. Stubbendieck, J. (1974). Effect of pH on germination of three grass species. J. Range Manage., 27: 78-79.  https://doi.org/10.2307/3896448

Google Scholar

21. Tomar, O.S. (1997). Raising nursery of Acacia nilotica var. cupressiformis with saline water. Indian Forester, 123(2): 148-152.

Google Scholar

22. Tomar, O.S. and Yadav, J.S.P. (1980). Effect of saline irrigation water of varying EC, SAR and ESP levels on germination and seedling growth of some forest species. Indian J. For., 3: 306-314.

Google Scholar

23. Tomar, O.S. and Yadav, J.S.P. (1985). Effect of saline water irrigation and fertilizer application on the growth of tree seedlings. Ann. Arid Zone, 24: 94-100.

24. Tripathi, R.S. and Khan, M.L. (1990). Effect of seed weight and microsite characteristics on germination and seedling fitness in two species of Quercus in subtropical wet hill forests. Oikos, 57: 289-296.  https://doi.org/10.2307/3565956

Google Scholar

25. Ungar, I.A. (1977). Halophyte seed germination. Botanical Review, 44: 233-264.  https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02919080

Google Scholar

26. Ungar, I.A. (1982). Germination ecology of halophytes. In : Sen, D.N. & Rajpurohit, K.S. (eds.) Contribution to the Ecology of Halophytes. Junk, the Hague, Netherlands. pp. 143-154.  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8037-2_10

Google Scholar

27. Ungar, I.A. (1991). Seed germination. In: Ecophysiology of Vascular Halophytes. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. pp. 9-48.  https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003418269-2

28. Waisel, Y. (1972). Biology of Halophytes. Academic Press, New York.

Google Scholar

29. Willan, R.L. (1985). A guide to forest seed handling with special reference to the tropics. FAO Publication.

Google Scholar

About this article

How to cite

Dagar, J.C., Bhagwan, H. and Kumar, Y., 2004. Seed germination studies of Salvadora persica and Jatropha curcas. Indian Journal of Forestry, 27(3), pp.283-289. https://doi.org/10.54207/bsmps1000-2004-P889BA

Publication History

Manuscript Published on 01 September 2004

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: