Assessment of Morphological and Biochemical Diversity in Seabuckthorn (Hippophae salicifolia D. Don.) Populations of Indian Central Himalaya

Abstract

A survey was conducted in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts of Garhwal division of Uttarakhand state to assess morphological and biochemical diversity of Hippophae salicifolia, which is widely distributed at an altitude of 2,229–3,287 m asl. Sixteen naturally growing populations selected for the study showed wide variation among qualitative traits viz. fruit shape, fruit colour at maturity, seed shape, seed colour and plant architecture. Maximum number of fruits per 10 cm of fruiting branch was recorded in Dharali-1 accession (102), while maximum fruits weight was observed in Bhyundar accession (24.8 g/100 fruit). Highest juice percentage (74.38 %) and highest total soluble solids (10.0°B) was recorded in Hanumanchatti and Rambara stands, respectively. Acidity, recorded as % citric acid (4.26–6.73 %) and ascorbic acid (261.37–748.15 mg/100 ml) content in fruit pulp also showed wide range of variation across the populations. To ascertain the extent of variability observed at the morphological level, dendrogram prepared using euclidean distance revealed presence of three major clusters. Based on the morphological observations it was evident that large diversity exists in naturally growing populations of H. salicifolia in the Indian Central Himalaya, and this morphological variation can be exploited for the further selection of suitable genotypes to accelerate the domestication process of this important species.