Population structure, fruit traits variability and pre-sowing seed treatment in Hydnocarpus pentandrus (Buch.-Ham.) oken. in Central Western Ghats

Hydnocarpus pentandrus (Buch.-Ham.) Oken. is a medium-sized tree belonging to Achariaceae family and commonly called as Chaulmoogra. It is one of the threatened forest tree species of Western Ghats and IUCN categorized this species as Vulnerable. Growth structure of these trees varied among studied populations. The flowering and fruiting period was observed during February to May and fruit maturation period is about 12-13 months; hence, there is an overlap in different phenophases like flowering, initial fruit set and old matured fruits in a single tree. Fruit size also vary among populations, where fruits collected from Ladghar populations are comparatively bigger than Parule population, which showed small fruit size. Seeds treated with mixture of goat manure+cocopeat (76%) and mixture of goat manure+soil (68%) resulted in higher germination than rest of the treatments.