Cost effective and ex-situ (Seed Germination) conservation of Cullenia exarillata Robyns.an Endemic and Keystone species in Western Ghats, South India.

Vivek Raj Pushparaj

doi:10.7439/ijasr.v1i10.2670

Abstract

The Western Ghats is a chain of mountains and is one of the 33 recognized ecologically sensitive zones in the world. There are several centres of plant endemism and species richness within the Western Ghats. Cullenia exarillata Robyns is a large evergreen tree in the mid-elevation evergreen forests which is endemic to Western Ghats. This tree acts as a hot bed of activity when in flower and functions as a keystone resource for several species of arboreal mammals, including the endangered primate Lion tailed macaque and Nilgiri langur. A preliminary attempt is carried out to regenerate and restore the populations of C.exarillata. Seed germination studies were performed and seeds were treated using 3 different pre-sowing treatments. Seeds were soaked in Dithane-45 for 5minutes, in cow dung extract for two nights and in gibberillic acid (100 ppm) for 24 hours. Untreated seeds were also used as control. Dithane-45 treatment showed 80% seed germination and the cow dung extract treatment showed 20% seed germination. Dithane-45 treatment promotes speedy seed germination when compared to other treatments. Therefore, pre-sowing treatment with Dithane-45 for 5 minutes was more effective for this plant.

Highlights

The Western Ghats is a chain of mountains, 1600 Km in length running parallel to the West cost of Peninsular India from the river Tapti to Kanyakumari, the southern tip of peninsular India
The results revealed that germination percentage of Cullenia exarillata increased in seeds which were treated with Dithane-45
The untreated seeds took 70 days for initiation of germination. 20% germination was noted in cow dung extract treated seeds and in the control

Summary

Introduction

The Western Ghats is a chain of mountains, 1600 Km in length running parallel to the West cost of Peninsular India from the river Tapti to Kanyakumari, the southern tip of peninsular India. It is estimated that there are four thousand species of flowering plants known from the Western Ghats. Of these 1,500 (nearly 38 percent) are endemic [1]. 63 percent of India’s woody evergreen taxa are endemic to the Western Ghats [2]. Of the 280 woody endemic species found in the south of Karnataka, 70 species are endemic to the southernmost Travancore region. This high level of diversity and endemism in the Western Ghats has conferred on them the hot spots statuses. The southern section of Western Ghats is by far the richest area in context to floristic composition and concentration of endemic taxa [3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion