Seed and pod trait variations in Bauhinia vahlii wight & arn. in lower himalayan regions of Himachal Pradesh

The present study was carried out at Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni, Solan during 2019 20. Five phenotypically superior genotypes of Bauhinia vahlii in four districts comprising of ten seed sources i.e. Nurpur, Dunera ( district Kangra), Rangas, Balduk, Tauni devi (district Hamirpur), Kathar (district Sirmour), Kuthar, Dharbanar, Ramsh har and Bhojnagar (district Solan) were selected with an aim to evaluate the seed sources on the basis morphological and floral characteristics, and seed traits. The maximum average leaf length (23.8 cm) was in Dunera and maximum average leaf breadth (19.9 cm) and average pod length (23.3 cm) was from Nurpur area collections. Bhojnagar seed source proved better for seed weight (136.9 g) and seed germination (91.11 per cent). High heritability (1.00) with high genetic advance (14.37) was recorded for germination and highest genetic gain was also for germination (28.10 per cent). The seed weight showed high and positive correlation with germination per cent (0.847).