Provenance Variation in Growth Characteristics of Wild Hevea Genotypes in Bastar Region of Central-eastern India

A study to evaluate thirty wild genotypes of three provenances Acre, Matto Grosso and Rondonia along with six Wickham clones, was conducted for the screening of their existing nature and extent of variation under the drought prone conditions in Bastar region of central-eastern India. The region received rain for about four months (June-September) with only sixty-five rainy days and had more than seven months of dry period. In summer months ambient temperature during daytime crossed 38°C. The observation on variability in growth were recorded for girth, plant height, canopy height, canopy breadth, number of branches, branching height, branching angle and bark thickness at fourth year after field planting. Correlation, components of variance and heritability in broad sense were worked out. Wide inter and intra provenance variability was observed for all the characters studied. In general, Matto Grosso provenance showed comparatively high adaptability and superiority for all characters except branching height and branching angle; while in general Acre exhibited lowest growth performance. Several genotypes could be identified as superior to Wickham clones for certain important characters like bark thickness, plant height, canopy height and branching height. The existing wide variability would ultimately help to identify certain potential genotypes for future breeding and crop improvement programmes.