Variation in nutrient composition of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) leaves collected from different locations of Ladakh

Seabuckthorn an important fruit crop grown under high altitude areas of cold arid in north western Himalayas. Under such conditions, plant nutrient studies are important for improvement of fruit yield and juice quality. In order to answer this question the nutrient-partitioning was studied in leaves from 9 different contrasting altitudes in the Ladakh mountains. Mineral nutrients content followed consistent altitudinal trends. The higher altitude sample always had higher N, P, K, Cu contents per unit leaf area. However, variable contents were observed for Na, Ca, Fe, Zn, Mg and Mn. The leaves sampled from Spituk, Leh (L₄) had higher N, P and K contents, i.e., 3.31, 0.04 and 2.09% respectively and lower content was recorded from Suru river bank, Kargil (L₈), i.e., 1.84, 0.03 and 1.51%. The growth of leaves at high altitude seems to be controlled in a way that leads to comparatively high nutrient contents, which in turn support high metabolic activities.