Vegetative and seed propagation in Sohshang (Elaeagnus latifolia L.) for conservation and utilization of a wild edible fruit

Sohshang (Elaeagnus latifolia L.) is an important underutilised fruit crop in the eastern Himalayas, India. The whole fruit is edible and possesses several health-beneficial bioactive ingredients. Several value-added and processing products have developed from this fruit. However, the commercial orchards of this crop are very limited due to the non-availability of quality planting materials. Therefore, different propagation strategies were adopted to understand the propagation behaviours of this crop. Three grafting methods (wedge, tongue, and shoot tip grafting), four cuttings (shoot tip, softwood, hardwood, and semi-hardwood), and seed germination (large, medium and small seeds) were used as propagation strategies. Results found that no sprouts and growth were observed in different grafting techniques. Among different cuttings, hardwood and semi-hardwood produced sprouts and growth; however, the growth showed wilting and died from 20 days onwards. In seed propagation, the days taken to germinate were reduced by 21.4-25.8% in large seeds as compared to medium and small seeds. Similarly, the large seeds increased the number of leaves by 10-18%, the germination percentage (16-28%), and the survival percentage (12-13%) more than other seeds. Correlation studies revealed that large seeds showed a significant positive association with germination (r=0.80**), survival (0.68*), and growth traits but were negatively correlated with days to germination (r=-0.95**). Therefore, this species is difficult to propagate through grafting (wedge, tongue, and shoot tip) and is considered difficult to root through cuttings. However, seed propagation, particularly large seeds (>3.5 g), could be used effectively for rapid multiplication of this crop.