Domestication of Phoebe cooperiana in the Eastern Himalayas: population variation in morphological and biochemical fruit parameters

Abstract

AbstractPhoebe cooperiana U.N Kanjilal ex A. Das is an indigenous forest tree species yielding fruits consumed widely across the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. As part of an initiative to domesticate the species, phenotypic variation in fruit and seed morphology as well as the biochemical properties of the pulp were assessed for 14 populations within the state. Nine fruit and seed characters were measured and 12 biochemical parameters of the fruits were analysed. Five trees were selected from each population and a minimum of 30 fruits were collected from each tree. Analysis of variance indicated significant variation in all fruit and seed morphological parameters. The coefficient of variation for fruit weight was reported to be 5.02%, seed weight 5.60%, pulp weight 5.36% and pulp fruit ratio 4.14%. Among biochemical parameters which are of nutritive value, crude protein, vitamin E and A were higher than that found in most common fruits and vegetables. These traits also showed significant variation among the 14 selected populations with crude protein values ranging between 5.99 and 10.76%, vitamin E between 4.80 and 7.33 mg/100 g and vitamin A between 1.88 and 3.13 mg/100 g. The fruits are also high in phenol with a mean value of 22.19 mg/g and displayed promising 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging properties averaging 56.94% antioxidant activity. However, cyanogen content in the fruits was higher than the permissible amount for human consumption, for which processing is recommended before use. The opportunities for domestication are discussed and some promising traits and populations that can be utilized in the domestication programme are identified.