1.1 General Introduction

Plants are very important for the living world and one of the most invaluable

natural resources for mankind. The importance of plants to the living world

hardly needs any elaboration. Human beings from the time immemorial

directly and indirectly in many ways related with plants. During the history of

civilization man has been continuously exploiting the nature for the best

possible life. In the past, the needs of man were limited, the nature provided

him with what he needed, and the two lived in complete harmony. With the

development of civilization the needs of the man increased and he without

knowing the consequences, began to over exploit the nature. Even today,

when the scientific worth of environmental factors and natural resources and

their interrelationships are better understood, the process of destruction and

damage to the environment in continuing under the pressure of population

explosion. The increased per capita needs of man has inevitably led to the

denudation of forest to meet the demands for food crops, fodder crops, cash

crops like jute and cotton and plantation crops like rubber, coffee,' tea

mulberry etc. along with roads made for hydroelectric works, townships,

railways, road ways, canals, mines etc. causing many ecological damages

and depriving many of their traditional live hood.

The forest (trees) have played a vital role in our culture, religion, history and

philosophy and it is well known that while this was so in the historical past, we

seem to have forgotten our involvement with trees on account of our greed for

immediate and short term financial gains. As a result India is a fast

deteriorating in to a man made desert. On a global scale, forest currently

occupy roughly one third of the world's land surface. As against this global

scene, forest in India occupy nearly 64.01 million ha of land (FSI, 1989) and

contribute about one fifth of the land area of the country. With only about 2%

of the total forest area of world, India supports about 15% of the total human

and 14% of the total cattle population of the world. Much of the loss in plant

diversity has been consequence of over dependence of people on forest

produce. About 50 million triblas live in vicinity and are dependent on forest

for their requirement of fuel and fodder (Roy Burman, 1986). It has been

estimated that 52.8% of the forests in India have inadequate or no

regeneration. At present this value found must be increased. The situation

therefore, calls for urgent measures to take up in situ preservation in big way.

To over come the catastrophical effects of the indiscriminate felling of trees,

afforestation of degraded forest and creation of new forest belt is of utmost

importance to increase the tree cover. Since most of the tree species usually

reproduce by seeds, seed can play a substantial role in the afforestation

programmes. By raising the plants through its seed and its subsequent

transplantation to suitable planting sites according to a definite action plan, we

could very well check the unfavorable consequences of the massive

deforestation. Hence, seed is a basic unit for establishment of new

generations and it enable plants to propagate themselves. Plants produced

seeds to ensure the perpetuation of their types and for the spread of the new

species to the newer areas. Seed producing capacity of plants made them

particularly (angiosperms) dominant over the spore bearing plants (K Esau,

1976).

Seeds are probably more valuable than any other plant part for men as well

as for plant itself also. Form the time immemorial; in every SOCiety the three

fundamental and basic needs of the people are: food, shelter and clothing;

among these food is the most important and basic need for the existence of

human being. The chief source of human food is cereals, legumes, nuts,

vegetables and fruits. Committed over a one million years to a nomadic life,

man settled down about 10,000 years ago when he learn to satisfy his hunger

by growing food, specially seed foods. Seeds, the great staple food, feed

more people than does any other type of food in the most part of the universe

and are valued for their chemical composition and nutrition. The endosperm

with their rich food reserves for the embryo and seedling offer man and other

animal a highly nutrious food that can be easily stored.

More food seeds viz. rice, wheat, maize etc are constituted by the plant family

Gramineae than any other plant family as well as oats, barely, sorghum,

2

millet, rye, tef and other edible seeds. All great civilization has been founded

on grain crops, primarily because their seeds offered high food value.

Approximately 90% of all seeds cultivated are cereal grains.

The leguminosae, which is the second most important seed food family,

provides us with peanuts, soybeans, lentils, peas, check-peas, horse beans

and other edible beans. These seeds are rich (25-40%) either in proteins or in

carbohydrates, which are essential in a balanced human diet. Besides food

source leguminous species are very important for its ability of nitrogen

fixation. Most leguminous species fIXed atmospheric nitrogen in more/less

amount and improve soil fertility. Not only these two plant families, but also

many other plant species offer nutrious seed food and also used for medicinal

purposes.

The term seed must be understood in broad, popular sense. It is applied not

only to true seed, but also to equivalent structure, which look like and function

as seeds. Kozlowski and Gunn (1972) defined a true seed as a fertilized ovule

which posses an embryonic plant, stored food with protective coat/coats.

Thus, a seed generally consists of main three parts: Embryo,

Endosperm/cotyledons and seed coat/testa. As described by Hartmann and

Kester (1986), the term seed as commonly used also includes the ovule of

one seeded, dry dehiscent fruits, such as caryopes, achenes and nuts.

According to Malik and Shrivastrava (1979), seed is the seat of partial

development of new embryo and embryo is a connecting link between two

generations of a plant, provides a continuity of genetic material and constitute

a slender threshold of life for plant. Biochemically seeds are consisting of

starch, carbohydrates, proteins, oil content etc.

As per the seed definition, it mainly consists of three parts: Embryo,

endosperm/cotyledons and seed coat/testa. These three parts of a seed offer

an interesting field of seed study. An embryo is a future plan for establishment

of new generations attracted towards a very complex and the most important

phenomenon - seed germination that is one of the important index of seed

quality. Endosperm/cotyledons with its nutritive reserve food provide wide and

3

----------------- ---- ---

important field of the study about biochemical make-up of seeds. This study

must be resulted in to some nutritive information about balanced diet in

relation to population explosion. Many seeds contain edible/non-edible oil

content in more/less percentage. In case of non-edible oil it will be useful to

various industries in the production of oil based products viz. soap, cosmetics,

toiletries, lubricant, paints, varnishes etc. In the last few decades, oil seed sp.

of forest origin has attracted the attention of researchers. Seed coat/testa -

protective layer of seeds with its different color, thickness, surfaces, etc.

provide field for the study of external seed morphology. It also includes

various seed shapes, size, weight, and hilum shape etc. these seed

characters are very useful and important tool for the correct identification of

plant.

Embryo, which is a connecting link between two generations of a plant,

supplied nutrition by endosperm/cotyledons during the early stages of embryo

development. For germination to precede food reserves in the seed must be

broken down so that they can be utilized in the embryo. Thus, embryo is

directly related to the endosperm and type of the reserved food of endosperm,

suggest study about mobilizing efficiency of seed during germination. Seed

morphology also affects the germination and provide field for study about the

interrelationship of seed morphology and germination.

Seed with its three parts: Embryo, endosperm & seed coat and their

interdependence attracted to pay attention to its different interesting and

important phenomenon. And thus, in our study we have selected some of

these seed phenomenon, especially forest tree seed.

4

1.2 Aims and Objectives

Aims

Main aim of the present study was morphological, biochemical analysis and

germination of seed, which is to be first of it's kind in the area. The entire

study is divided into following phases:

• To study external seed morphology.

• Biochemical analysis of the seed.

• To study seed germination.

• To study mobilizing efficiency of the seed.

• To study effect of growth regulators on seed germination.

Objectives

• The morphological characters of seed viz. seed size (length, width,

thickness), weight, shape, color, surface, hilum shape etc. have

been studied.

• Seed analysis carried out for protein, starch, reducing and non­

reducing sugars and oil content.

• Effect of growth regulators on seed germination and on mobilizing

efficiency have been studied for the selected tree species and

different seedling characters have been observed.

5

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1.3 Study Area

Victoria Park (reserved forest) was selected for the seed collection. It is

situated at 3 km south of Bhavnagar city, which is located at latitude 21 ° 42'

to 21° 48' North and longitude 72° 04' to 72° 14' East on the western coast of

the Gulf of Cam bay in the peninsula of Saurashtra in Gujarat state. The

Prince Takhtasinhji of Bhavanagar named it as 'Victoria Park' in honour of

Queen Victoria. The entire area is triangular in shape and covers about

202.74 hectares. The most of the area is plain butthe western side is hilly and

rugged in nature. There are two lakes - 'Krishna Kunj Talao' and

'Gaurishankar Lake', which support considerable number of aquatic plants

during the rainy season. There are two nurseries, maintained to provide

young seedlings for plantation under the 'Van-Mahotsava' programme to

villagers, and various agencies.

1.3.1 Soil

Soil is generally defined as part of the earth's crust in which plants are anch.

Daubenmire (1959), defined soil as the weathered superficial layer of the

earth's crust with which are mingled living organisms and products of their

decay. Plants are greatly depending upon soil for their nutrients, water supply,

and anchorage upon the soil. Thus, the information about soil color, type, and

nature is needed to know.

The soil in this area are the residual derived from basalt outcrop. Generally

three types of soils are found in this area viz. half-decomposed rock, just

beneath the upper surface, locally called as 'morrum'; coarse soils are mix

with clayey soils in low-lying areas. Most of the plain area shows

brown/blackish brown soil with sandy texture. Due to presence of humus, the

upper layer of these soils is usually blackish brown in color. The low-lying

area shows medium black soil, which is clayey in nature having characteristic

cracks in summer and sticky in rainy season. The under lying rock found in

this area is Basalt-Deccan Trap.

6

1.3.2 Climate

Climate is the most important ecological factor, paints the general picture of

the vegetation. The climate of this area is semi-arid type with marked

seasons: winter, summer and monsoon. The maximum temperature during

summer is 40° C and minimum temperature during winter is 10° C . The

average annual rainfall 700 mm. The area is under the influence of winds

generally from South-West to North-East direction. During summer and

monsoon the wind velocity observed higher while lower observed during the

post monsoon period. Relative humidity remained higher during monsoon and

lower during winter.

1.3.3 Vegetation

High temperature, low humidity and low rainfall make the environment very

dry, which paints the xerophytic type of the vegetation in the area. The area

covered by the canopy of 422 different plant species, of which 241 herbs, 69

trees, 67 shrubs and 45 twiners/climbers (Patel, 1982). According to him

Leguminosae and Poaceae are the largest family of this area while

Euphorbiaceae and Astraceae take up the next position. The vegetation of the

area classified in to two categories: permanent vegetation and temporary

vegetation. Permanent vegetation occurring throughout the year and during

summer and winter these plants establish themselves with xerophytic

adaptation. The dominant species are: Acacia Senegal. A. nilotica, A.

leucophloea, Capparis decidua, C. sepiaria, Prosopis juliflora etc. While

temporary vegetation occurring mainly during the rainy season and

constructed by the annuals like Cassia tora, C. pumila, Indigofera cordifolia,

Cleome viscose, Tridax procumbens etc. The dominant species of the area

are: Acacia Senegal, Prosopis ju/iflora, Grewia tenax, Securinega

leucophyrus, Dichrostachys cineraria, Balanites aegyptica, Moytenus

emarginata, Capparis sepiaria and Capparis decidua.

7

f I t d· d List 0 . plant species s u Ie

No. Species Family Local Name Fruiting Type of fruit

1 Acacia nilolica (L) Mimosaceae Deshi-baval Aug. - Dec. Pods

2 Acacia senegal (L) Mimosaceae Gorad- baval Oct. -Apr. Pods 3 Adansonia dlgftata (L) Bombacaceae Rukhdo June - Dec. Capsule 4 Aegle marmalose (L) Rutaceae Bili Feb. -July Berries 5 Ailanthus excelsa (Roxb.) Simaroubaceae Arduso Feb. - May Samara

6 Albizia lebbeck (L) Mimosaceae Sins Oct. -

Pods March

7 Azadirachta indica (A. Meliaceae Umdo Jan. - May Drupes Juss.)

8 Bauhinia purpurea (L) Caesalpiniaceae Kanchner Sep. - Feb. Pods 9 Butea monosperma (Lam.) Papilionaceae Khakharo Dec. - May Pods 10 Cassia fistula (L) Caesalpiniaceae Garmalo Apr. -Aug. Pods 11 Cassia javanica (L) Caesalpiniaceae Apr. - July Pods

12 Cassia siamea (Lam.) Caesalpiniaceae Throughout

Pods year

13 Cordia dichotoma (Forst.) Ehretltiaceae Vad gunda March -Drupes

June 14 Cordia gharaf (Forsk) Ehretitiaceae Nani gundi Apr. - Jan. Drupes 15 Dalbergia sissoo (Roxb.) Papilionaceaa Sisam Jan. - May Pods 16 Delonix regia (Boj.) Caesalpiniaceae Gulmahor Apr. -Aug. Pods 17 Derris indica (Lam.) Papilionaceae Karanj Feb. -July Pods 18 Embfica officinafis (Gaertn.) Euphorbiaceae Ambia June - Sap. Drupes 19 Gfiricida sepium (Jacq.) Papilionaceae Feb. - May Pods 20 Gmefina arborea (Roxb.) Verbenaceae Sivan Apr. - May Drupes 21 Holoptelia intigrifolia Ulmaceae Kanjo Jan. - May

(Roxb.) 22 Leucaena leucocephala Mimosaceae Laso bavel May - Feb. Pods

(Lam.)

23 Menilkara zapata (L) Sapotaceae Chikoo Throughout year

Berries

24 Moringa oledera (Lam.) Monngaceae Sargavo Throughout Capsule year

25 Parkinsonia aculeata (L) Caesalpiniaceae Rambaval Jan. - May Pods 26 Peftophorum pterocarpum Caesalpiniaceae Tamrafali Throughout Pods

(DC) year 27 Pfthecolobium dulce Mimoceae Goras amli Dec. -June Pods

(Roxb.) 28 Polythia longifolia (Sonn.) Annonaceae Asopalav Apr. - Aug. Berries 29 Prosopis juliffora (Sw.) Mimosaceae Gando baval Aug. - May Pods

30 Sapindus laurifolius (Vahl.) Sapindaceae Aritha Nov.-

Drupes March

31 Syzygium cumini (L) Myrtaceae Jambu March -Berries

July 32 Tamarindus indica (L.) Caesalpiniaceae Amli Apr. - Nov. Pods

33 Thespesia pappuflnea (L) Malvaceae Paras piplo Throughout

Capsule year

8

1.4 Review of Literature

1.4.1 Seed morphology

Seeds are important as a prime genetic resource and also an important stage

of plants life cycle. Externally seeds vary so much in their size (length, width

and thickness), weight, shape, surface, color and hilum shape. Nikolaewa

(1958) indicated that the characteristics of seed depict the sum of total effect

of various stresses and strains, which the species has been subjected to

during evolution in its specific habitat of origin. Seed characters have been

studied thoroughly by many workers: Scurti (1948); Vartak (1961); Chaung

and Heckward (1972); Whiffin and Tomb (1972); Berggren (1974); Denford

and Karas (1974); Simpson (1976); Maiti (1976); Hill (1976); Mulligan and

Baily (1976); Seavy et al.( 1978); Gunn (1979); Mangly (1979).

Seed morphology or study of seed characters as an individual parameter is a

neglected field of taxonomy, but references to the use of seed characters are

found in various autecologiical investigation as well as in taxonomic literature

and they are occasionally used for the purpose of plants identification. Martin

and Barkely (1961) suggested important seed characters and employ them in

plant taxonomy. Duke (1961) has indicated that feature of seeds such as

shape; sculpturing and color provide critical identification of the systematic

position of the speCies Drymaria (Caryophyllaceae). According to Obereyer

(1962) the number and shape of the seed were the only reliable distinction

between two genera Chlorophytum and Anthericum of the Liliaceae. Further

the species of Ocimum (Labiateae), genera Sisymbrella and Nastrutium

(Cruciferae) weredistinguished by the presence or absence of mucilage on

the testa of seeds. Hairy outgrowths on the testa, their length and color

provided useful characters in the distinction of genera and/or species of

Malvaceae, Convolvulaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Acanthaceae. The

affinities of Ne/umbo and Nymphaea on the basis of seed morphology was

interpreted by Duke (1969). Leguminosae seeds attracted a lot of attention

because of their diverse form, shape, size and thus several attempts were

made to classify species by their seeds or seed characters in botanical

9

keys (Gopal and Thaplliyal, 1971 a, b). The general characteristic of Pinaceae

is that the seed coat was closely linked to the formation of wings. Pinus

wallichina (Troup, 1921); Pinus gerardiaana (Dogra, 1964) and Pinus

roxburghii (Mashewari and Konar, 1971 ) were characterised on the basis of

different type of wings present. Doran et al. (1983) described the Acacia

species on the basis of characters like type of funicle, the size, shape and

relative position of hilum, micropyle and lens, the form, color and dimension of

the seed and some aspects of internal morphology. Seed characters of 16

different tree species common to tropical dry deciduous mix forests of Central

Indian region were studied by Athya (1985) and revealed that t~e bigger

seed size and more weight viz. Bauhinia variegata, Diospyros melanoxylon,

Pongamia pinnata and Terminal/ia Sp. resulted in large amount of reserve

food material to the growing embryo in comparison to smaller and lesser

weight seed. Gavit and Parabia (1989) have prepared seed atlas of 66

Papilionaceous taxa collected mainly from the three districts of South Gujarat.

They have analysed various attributes like: size, shape, color, seed-weight,

fruit-seed weight ratio, texture, hilum, funicle and aril. Salazan and Cochran

(1989) have studied 16 provenances of Acacia mangium and variation in

morphological characters have been noted. Gavit (1990) studied the

systematic seed morphology of South Gujarat plants and constructed

diagnostic keys for the identification of unknown seed samples. While

morphological variations in relation to habitat were recorded for 12

provenance of Acacia nilotica by Ginwal and Gera (1997). Gera et al. (2000)

have also studied comparative morphological characters of seed in Acacia

nilotica collected from six different states and noted variations among seed

length, width and thickness.

Seed collection is the most critical and crucial aspect of nursery management.

Assessment for variation and subsequent selection from optimum size can be

useful study to improve germination. With this aspect many workers studied

the seed characters (particularly seed size and weight) as affecting to seed

behavior(germination capacity, germination velocity and vigour) in different

plant species. Righter, 1945 (Pinus); Langdon, 1958 (Pine Sp.); Kandya, 1975

(Pinus oocarpa); Goor and Barney, 1976 (Eucalyptus); Kumar,1989 (Tectona

10

grandis); Chauhan and Raina, 1980 (Pinus roxburghit); Pathak et aI.,

1981 (Leucaena leucocephala); Pathak et aI., 1980 (Acacia tortitlis); Halor,

1983 (Casurina equsitifolia ); Turnbull, 1983 and Aquaire and Nakane, 1983

(Eucaz/yptus); Gupta et aI., 1983 and Natarajan and Vinay Rai, 1984

(Leucaena leucocephala); Thapliyal, 1986 (Pinus); Nagveni and

Ananthapadmanabha,1986 (Santlum album). Singh et al. (1988) Sagchi and

Sharma, 1989 (Santalum album). Chauhan, 1989 (Grewia optiva); Singh et

aI., 1990 (Picea smithiana); Tripathi & Khan, 1990 (Quercus); Srimathi et aI.,

1991 (Acacia maelifera); Ponnammal et al. (1992,) Jaswal,1992 (Grewia

optiva); Dileep et aI., 1993 (Ceiba pentendra); Bhagat et aI., 1993(Chest-nut);

Whuangplong et aI., 1994, (Pterocarpus macrocapus); Sudhakara et aI., 1995

(Ceiba pentendra); according to Quraishi et al (1996), bigger seeds

germinate faster and attained enhance growth. Choubey et al. (1997) reported

that in Buchanania lanzzan seed polymorphism was found associated with

variation in seed weight, germination of seeds along with seedling growth and

their dry weight increased progressively. Negi and Todaria (1997) studied the

effect of seed size and weight on germination pattern and seedling

development of some multipurpose tree species of Garhwal Himalaya, and

reported that only large and heavy seeds of Terminalia belerica and Acer

oblongum resulted in to highest germination percentage. Singh (1998),

studied the effect of weight on germination survival and initial growth of

Quercus dilatata under nursery condition. They observed that higher seed

weight classes gave significantly better germination and survival percentage,

seedling growth as well as seedling dry weight. Sonfil (1998) studied the

effect of seed size in Quercus rugosa and Quercus /aurina and reported

earlier and better germination of heavy seeds.

Nizam and Hussain (1999) studied the effect of seed weight on germination

and initial seed ling growth in A. saman (Jaeq) F. Muel and mentioned that the

germination percent of the seeds increased as the seed weight increased.

Seedling also showed the same trend of higher height increment of large

seed. Tyagi et al (1999) reported that the seeds with more length, width and

thickness have more germination, similarly 100 seed weight and seed volume

are highly correlated with the germination in Grewia optiva. They suggested

II

seed length and 100 seed weight might be used as the predictors of

germination. Albizia procera seedlings from large seeds had a higher biomass

and leaf area and were more tolerant of long - term extreme water stress

were observed by Khurana and Singh (2000). Khurana and Singh(2001)

have studied ecology of tree seed and seedlings for tropical forest and

revealed seed size as a biotic variable. Khan and Uma Shankar (2001) have

studied the effect of seed weight on germination and seedling growth of

Quercus semiserrata Roxb. and noted that heavy seeds germinate early,

survive better and yield greater dry mass. Srivastava et al.(2001) studied seed

size variation and its influence on early growth in Terminalia arjuna. Poor

correlation observed between seed length and width. While significant

correlation was observed between seed size and weight. Maximum

germination percentage, faster initial growth and higher biomass of seedlings

were observed in larger sized seeds.

1.4.2 Seed Germination

Seed germination is one of the most important indexes of seed quality. It is

preceded by imbibitions and followed by emergence. Rapid, complete and

uniform growth of nursery stock is essential for better survival and

establishment of seedlings in the field to achieve good plant population from

seeds. In the recent past, many growth regulatory substances have been tried

to boost the growth regulators on seed germination has been reported in

many tree species.

Barton (1940); Seth and Mathauda (1959); Chatterjee (1960); Grushvitskii

and Limor (1961); Sircar (1963); Evanarri et al. (1964); Sachs (1965);

Chadwick and Burg (1967); Sankhala and Sankhala (1968); Ovcharov (1969);

Nanda et al (1970); Albert(1970); Bhosale and Joshi (1970) during their study

observed that in Terminalia arjuna, the 1M was more effective when applied

with ascorbic acid. GA3 stimulated the hypocotyls and shoot growth to the

highest degree, as noted by Chakravarty (1972).

The stimulatory effect of 1M on seed germination noted by French &

Sherman (1976). Treatment of teak seedlings with G~ was found to have

12

enhanced the plant height with reduced area of leaves, increased chlorosis

and impaired turgidity (Mehrotra & Dadwal, 1978). Baines (1980), during his

study reported that seed pre-soaking treatment with low concentration of IAA

and IBA resulted in slight stimulatory response. Shamshery and Kumar

(1982) studied the effect of some growth regulators on Abelmoschus

esculantus. Bewely & Black (1982) and Ellis et al. (1983) applied GA3 to

overcome dormancy and better seed germination.

A=rding to Semwal et al. (1984) and Wieser and Pilet (1984), the growth

regulators control several processes in the plant such as germination as well

as the shoot-root elongation, cotyledonary expansion and flowering. Mishra &

Mishra (1984), while working with Tectona grandis found that different

concentration of G~ proved more effective in case of radical growth. The

application of higher concentration resulted into decrease in the growth in a

descending order and culminating suppression at 50 ppm. Singh et al (1984)

studied influence of phytohormones on growth and dry matter production in

Madhuca latifolia and reported GA as growth stimUlator of seedlings.

Date and Jail (1985), reported higher survival percent and fresh and dry mass

production in teak seedlings due to application of GA3. Prasad and

Mohammad (1987), reported that the application of G~ on Grevillia robusta

registered highest percent increase in plant height and collar girth, as

compared to control. The increase in height of GA3 treated plants may be

ascribed due to stem elongation for which gibberellins are well known.

Enhanced seed germination by G~ treatment was reported in Cassia fistula

by Babely and Kandya (1988). During their study Verma and Tonadon (1988)

reported that plant growth and development were greatly influenced by

phytohormones. GA, AA were found highly affective in increaSing the growth

of seedling parts in Pinus kesiya and Schima khasiana. Bahuguna et al.

(1988) studied the effect of various concentration of G~ to enhance

germination of Champa (Michelia champaea, Linn.) seed. They found that

GA3 even in minute quantity was capable of promoting germination. Highest

germination percentage was obtained by treating seeds with 500 ppm GA3

Sharma and Govil (1988), studied the influence of growth substances (IAA,

13

GA3, MH, Cou and CCG) on elongation and history of hypocotyls in Citrullus

lanatus var. fistulosus and found significant changes in hypocotyls length,

vessel-element size and other histological characters of hypocotyls.

Malasi et al (1989) studied the influence of growth substances on seed

germination of Berberis asiatica. Yang and Read (1989) studied the effect of

GA3, 1M, and NM on bud break and shoot elongation in forest woody stems

and found that GA promote shoot elongation in the forest tree species.

Minu and Murthy (1990) studied effect of growth regulators on the foliar

application of growth regulators may cause promotion or inhibition depending

upon its concentration, endogenous level of the growth regulation and

genotype concerned. Kumar et al. (1991) observed the study of plant growth

regulators on two selected species and found that 300ppm concentration of

IBA is the most superior treatment for highest germination percent. Pal et al.

(1991) studied the effect of GA and fertilizers on growth of nursery stock of

Dalbergia sissoo and found promontory effect of GA3 on stem elongation.

Adedire and Oladede (1991) reported significant effect of different

concentration of IBA on the growth parameters of Leucaena leucocephala

seedlings.

Role of G~ in enhancing seed germination percentage was earlier reported

by Paadrutt et al. (1992) in R. prinophyllum. Chauhan and Paliwal (1992)

made observation about the effect of GA3 on seed germination and seedling

growth in Bauhinia variegata L. including the germination percentage, peak

value, cotyledonary expansion and comparative growth pattern of the

seedling. According to them the increased hypocotyls and shoot growth may

be due to the enhanced enzymatic activity by different concentration of GA3

Govil et al. (1995) studied germination in Indian Rhododendron and obtained

enhanced germination with the treatment of GA3 and IBA while 1M and Kn

were found to be inhibitory in their effects. Jadhav et al. (1995) studied the

effect of growth regulators on performance of Tectona grandis, Acacia

catechu and Terminalia tomentasa. According to them application of GA3

14

(20ppm) produced significantly more height in Tectona grandis. In TerminJia

tomentasa, GA3 (40 ppm) produced maximum height while in Acacia catechu

the maximum height was observed with ISA (10ppm). Sita Janki and

Sumalini (1996) in Amla(EmbJica officinalis Gaertn.) reported enhanced

germination due to G~ treatment. Shukla et al. (1997) reported enhanced

seed germination by GA3 treatment in Amla (EmbJica officinaJis Gaertn.).

The effect of growth regulators on seed germination of H. antidysentrica

(WaiL) and W. tinctoria (R. Sr.) was studied by Chaturvedi and Sajpai(1998)

and revealed that the lower concentration (2ppm) of 1M and ISA was the

most effective treatment for obtaining highest germination in both the species.

Rajpput et al. (1998) studied the pre-soaking effect of different growth

substances (1M, ISA, GA3, Ascorbic acid and Calcium Chloride) and

recommended 10 ppm GA3 and 10 ppm Ascorbic acid were best for better

performance of Adina cordifolia, M. parvifoJia and H. excdsum respectively.

Chauhan et al. (1998) studied the effect of various levels of 1M on the seed

germination of Sauaaurea costus (Fale.),

Tiwari et al.(1999) studied the effect of growth regulators on percentage

germination and plant percentage of some leguminous forest tree sp. (Albizia

odoratissima, Dalbergia latifolia, Plerocarpus marsupium, Hardwickia binata

and Qugeiniadalbergioides) and mentioned that the lower concentration of

growth substance(IM, ISA, GA3) were promotive and also increased the

germination percentage and plant percentage in comparison to control. Duta

et al. (1999) studied the effect of phytohormone GA3 on the germination,

growth and biomass production of Persea bombyeina. They found enhancing

effect of G~ in relation to germination and reduced the germination period

where as the biomass yield was higher at lower concentration. Kiran et al.

(2001) studied the effect of GA3 on seed germination Givotia rottierifonnis

Griff., reported increased germination percentage with the G~ treatment.

15

1.4.3 Biochemical Analysis

Rusell (1947) estimated whole seed protein content from the seeds of Acacia

tortilis and recorded protein value was 38%. Rediske (1961) estimated seven

biochemical constituents: crude fat, iodine absorption fat, reducing - non

reducing sugar, starch, soluble nitrogen and protein in Pseudotsuga

menziesii. Similar study in Abies procera was performed by Rediske and

Nicholson (1965). Early and Jones (1962) have analysed seed samples of

113 plant families and estimated concentration of whole seed protein in

Acacia pavonia was (40%) and Prosopis juliflora was (33.9%) while the

concentration of cotyledon protein (39.4%) in Acacia melanoxylon was. They

also suggested that members of subgenus Heterophyllum were rich in oil

(about 11 %) than other non-oil leguminous seeds (about 3%). Pant and Kapur

(1963) analysed the mineral content from the seeds of wild leguminous

species.

The studies on seed bio-chemicals were reported in tree species by Bonner

(1973), who observed that in most seeds, complex carbohydrates, fats, oil

and protein usually accumulates with maturation and lipid form the major food

reserve in many tree species. Pant et al (1974) have studied the amino acid

composition in the seeds of wild Indian legumes. Kramer and Kozolowski

(1979) reported the nutritional status of seeds of different woody species with

carbohydrates as usually predominating nutrient. Hashizume (1979) studied

the change in chemical constituents during development of acorns in Quercus

acutissima Carr. and Q. serrata Thumb. and reported that the mature acorns

contained 46% of dry weight as crude starch. Niranjan and Katiyar (1979)

worked out the chemical composition of the wild leguminous seeds. Preiss

and Levi (1980) studied the biosynthesis and degradation of starch among

seeds of different species and revealed that food reserves in seeds are

generally believed to be carbohydrates, fats and proteins and proportion of

these vary greatly among different species.

Beri et al (1982) have made chemical examination of seeds of Prosopis

cineraria for their oil content. Rai (1983) recorded crude oil percentage in

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Butea monosperma, 20-25%, Pongamia pinnata 20-40% while Terminalia

belerica 30 - 45%. Similarly Theagazalan and Prabhu (1983) extracted fatty

oil of Bursera pariculata seeds. Jain et al. (1988) extracted six fatty oils from

the seeds of Pongamia pinnata and Azadirachta indica. Mandla et al (1985)

estimated seed protein concentration (40.8%) in Acacia auricuaeformis.

Balogun and Fetuga (1986) studied chemical composition of some under

exploited leguminous crop seeds and estimated the whole seed protein

concentration of Acacia ni/otica, Acacia senegal, Prosopis chilensis and

Prosopis africana were 25, 38, 25 and 25% respectively. Misra and Mitra

(1987) reported the nutritional status of seeds of the different woody species

and reported carbohydrates as usually predominating nutrient. Jain et al.

(1988) studied the physico-chemical properties of oil obtained from Olea

dioica seeds. According to their findings the kernels of Olea dioica contain

about 24.54 % of oil. Jain et al (1988) analysed chemical structure of oil­

seeds of forest trees. They found the highest oil content from the seeds of

Pinus roxburghii about 41.32 %. Sehgal et al. (1989) have extracted oil

content from the seeds of Pinus roxburghii from four different areas selected

randomly. They have also studied the chemical characterization of obtained

oil content. Shankarnarayana et al (1990) worked out the fatty acid and

mineral composition in the seeds of Sandal tree. They studied the seeds of

young and mature tree seeds and found that the young seeds consist of 55 %

of oil, 8.2 % nitrogen, 51.25 % protein. While mature tree seeds found to

contain 62% of oil, 8.6 % of nitrogen and 53.75 % of protein. Dinesh Kumar

(1990) observed that non reducing sugars accounted for the major portion of

sugar to reducing sugars, in Celtis australis.

Rudrappa and Revadi (1991) extracted the oil from the seeds of Albizia

lebbeck and A. odoratissima and studied its fatty acid composition their

findings suggested that dry kemels of A. /ebbeck and A. odoratissima seed

contain about 2 .. 5 and 3.65 % oil respectively. Chowdhury and Banerji (1992)

reported the fatty acid composition of Mesua ferrea L. seed oils. They

reported about 65.0 % of oil content from the seed. Purohit and Mishra (1992)

analysed seeds of five tree species for their oil content were: maximum in

Terminalia be/erica, 40.46% while minimum in T. indicus, 7.46%. in Butea

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monosperma, 19.36%; in Pithecolobium dulce, 15.66%; in Pongamia pinnata,

37.22%. Rengude et al (1994) recorded the possibility of making protein

isolates from the seeds of Subabool verities for human consumption, found

that the protein content varies from 30 - 32 %. Goel et al. (1992) analysed the

oil content from the seeds of Schima wal/ichii. According to them the seeds

were found to contain 18.77 % of a fixed oil. They also studied the fatty acid

composition of the oil which suggest that the oil contain Palmatic acid, stearic

acid, and linoleic acid were 13.73,4.32 and 63.55 percent respectively.

Gupta et al (1995) made the biochemical analysis for seeds of some forest

trees (viz. Largerstromia parviflora, Leucaena leucocephala, Acacia nilotica,

Peltophorum iuerme, Eucallyplus spp.) for its protein, oil, carbohydrates, ash,

fibre, NPN and reducing & non-reducing sugars. According to their findings,

seed of Largerstromia parviflora, Leucaena leucocephala, Acacia nilotica,

Peltophorum iuerme being rich in protein and other important dietary

nutrients. The study of Soni (1995) for the starch content from seeds of

Cassimirooa edulis, Shorea robusta, Careya arbores, Aesculus assamica,

Quercus leucotrichophora revealed that the seeds contain starch 26.30,

15.60,50.30,12.10,54.70 % respectively. He suggested that forest could

also be tapped for the commercial production of starch. Starch depending on

the physico-chemical properties may be used in foodstuffs for improvement of

their functional properties. Kadam ~t al. (1996) studied the nutritional status of

seeds of some tree species. Tomar et al (1996) carried out biochemical

evaluation of some forest seeds (viz. Cassia tora, Delonix regia, Crotolaria

laburaifolia, Acacia leucopjloea and Albizia procera) with a view to know their

nutritional qualities. All seeds were found rich in protein; the highest protein

content was obtained in A. procera while highest amount of carbohydrates

was obtained in Delonix regia. All the seeds were poor in fat content.

Shrivastava and Jha (1997) studied Adansonia digitata as an important

medicinal plant of M. P. and suggested that its seeds have a very tough husk

and a soft oily kemal which contain about 12 % of fatty oil. The seeds are also

an important source of Vit 'C'. Agboola and Kadiri (1998) made studies on

some chemical composition of the fresh seeds of Prosopis africana and

determined the total nitrogen, crude protein and some cations.

18

Kadam (2000) investigated carbohydrate levels in the seeds of 27 tree

species of South Gujarat forest. a=rding to his findings, Oe/onix regia,

Oiospyros melanoxylon, Melia azedirach, Acacia chundra, A. ferruginea, A.

nilotica, A. polycantha, Samanea saman, pterrocarpus marsupium and

Megna laxiflora were observed as rich sources of total carbohydrates

(39.64%) of seeds among the tree species examined. Such high nutrient

content could be used to meet with even increasing demand of food for

humanity. Kadam (2001) analysed seeds of 24 medicinally important tree

species for their protein and free amino acid content and found a wide

variation in the seed composition of different species. Higher protein

concentration estimated (99-209 mg/g) in Albizia lebbek. followed by P. dulce.

Garuga pinnata, Albizia procera, Phylanthus emblica, Bauhinia purpurea, B.

tomentosa, Ceiba pentendra, Adenenthera pavonia, Erythrina suberosa.

While B. purpurea, Myristica fragans, Putranjiva roxburghii, Albizia procera,

Erythrina suberosa, B. tomentasa, Phylanthus emblica, Adenthera pavonia

and Albizia /ebbek were found rich in free amino acid level (11 - 29 mg/g).

Bukhari (2002) studied the seed weight and protein concentration of whole

seed, cotyledons ands seed coat of 57 accessions of Acacia and Prosopis.

The estimated concentration of cotyledon protein were 53 ± 6, 59 ±6, 38 ± 1

and 46 ± 2 and 52 ± 4% from the seeds of Acacia, Aculeiferum,

Hetterophyllum and the genera Prosopis and Faidherbia respectively while

whole seed protein concentration were 40, 52, 32, and 41 and 37 from the

seeds of Acacia, Aculeiferum, Hetterophyllum and the genera Prosopis and "-

Faidherbia respectively. Chauhan and Arunkumar(2002) analysed

biochemical constituents in relation to diameter classes and harvesting

intervals of Acer oblongum seeds. They analysed total sugars, reducing and

non-reducing sugars, starch, total phenols, soluble proteins and total amino

acids.

19