Indian Journal of Agroforestry

Studies on reproductive biology of Burma dek (Melia composita) indicated that mild defoliation started in last week of November and continued up to end of February, majority being from January 13–28. Leaf primordial started appearing after all the leaves had shed off. Within a week of new foliage appearance, the panicle with small protruding buds appeared. The floral buds took 18–28 days to come to bloom. More than 80 per cent floral buds opened between 0800-0900 h. The number of days required from panicle initiation to fruit maturity ranged from 243–264 days. Fruit set underopen-pollination was comparable to the fruit setinself-pollinated and non-significant differences in growth characters of self versus open pollinated progenies also formed a strong evidence for self-pollinating behaviour. The molecular studies also revealed that Burma dek is predominantly self fertilizing species.