Propagule selection and pretreatment for nursery plant establishment of Symplocos cochinchinensis (Lour.) S. Moore Ajil M.S.1, Nair Deepa S.1,*, Sreekala G.S.1, Alex Swapna2 1Department of Plantation Crops and Spices, Kerala Agricultural University, College of Agriculture, Vellayani-695522, Kerala, India 2Department of Plant Biotechnology, Kerala Agricultural University, College of Agriculture, Vellayani-695522, Kerala, India *Corresponding author e-mail: deepanair.s@kau.in, deepaanil13@gmail.com
Online Published on 16 August, 2022. Abstract Symplocos cochinchinensis, endemic to Shola forests of South India, enlisted as rare, engandered and threatened (RET) species, is therapeutically very valuable and is being exploited in the Indian System of Medicine, Ayurveda. The bark extract is used to treat diabetes mellitus, female gynecological disorders and ailments of eye, skin etc. High pharmaceutical demand, unscrupulous collection and harvesting without replenishment has led to the decline of its population. Appropriate nursery techniques have to be developed for promoting the cultivation of the plant and augment its conservation. The study aimed at identifying the most viable propagule and effective pretreatment of propagules for nursery establishment of S. cochinchinensis. Natural dissemination of Symplocos occurs through seeds, low germination per cent and inconsistency in flowering and difficulty in the procurement of seeds from ripened fruits, make seeds an unfavorable entity for planting material production. Considering the genetic uniformity, vegetative propagation could be resorted to as the viable option for quality planting material production for domestication and conservation of the species. Hardwood and semi hardwood cuttings gave 30 and 23.33 per cent survival respectively, when pretreated with salicylic acid @ 20 mg L−1, while a slightly higher survival of 33.33 per cent was observed with root cuttings, pretreated with IAA @ 250 mg L−1. The procurement and availability of root cuttings were difficult. Hence, hardwood cutting was identified as the most viable option for quality planting material production for domestication and conservation of the species and salicylic acid @ 20 mg L−1 as the effective pretreatment for the initial nursery establishment of S. cochinchinensis. Top Keywords Symplocos cochinchinensis, Salicylic acid, Phloroglucinol, Propagation. Top |