Provenance Variation in Fruit and Seed Morphometric Characteristics of Dysoxylum binectariferum across Distribution in India

Dysoxylum binectariferum is a rich source of rohitukine among known natural source, a billion-dollar anti-cancer drug. During January-March 2022, a pioneer study on provenance variation in fruit and seed morphometric traits in recalcitrant D. binectariferum species across its distribution in India was conducted. Seeds were collected from superior trees selected through eye ball screening from 7 provenances coveringAssam,Arunanchal Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra states. Seed morphometric characteristics were determined using digital caliper and electronic weighing balance and differences in performance of characteristic among provenances were compared using analysis of variance.Analysis of variance revealed significant variation in seed morphometric traits among 7 provenances. All fruit traits and seed traits of Jog provenance were found to be significantly superior over other provenances. Among trees, JT1 found to be best in fruit parameters and seed parameters over the other trees. The superior trees identified in the present study can further used for tree improvement work in order to get maximum genetic gain in timber and metabolite production.