Seed and Germination Attributes in Sterculia urens Roxb. Populations in South Gujarat

Sterculia urens (Gum Karaya) is important NTFPs species distributed in the tropical deciduous forests. The species is very popular for its natural gum and having domestic and global demand for its purified gums by the pharmaceutical industries. A preliminary study was carried out to understand the seed traits and germination attributes of S. urens using 18 open pollinated trees distributed in the natural forest of South Gujarat. Result showed that, among seed lots from 18 trees (accessions), seed length varied from 7.97 to 13.29 mm, seed thickness varied from 4.75 to 7.90 mm and seed weight varied from 0.06 to 0.95 g. Considering germination, out of eighteen trees, seeds of only nine trees resulted in germination and remaining nine sources does not show germination, even up to 45 days from the date of sowing. Among nine sources, germination per cent varied significantly among these nine trees, which ranged from 15.92 to 66.13 per cent with an overall mean of 35.93 per cent. Other observations such as GRI, MDG, PV and GV also varied significantly among nine trees. These preliminary data recorded may be useful for understanding ecological aspects including regeneration of this species.