Seeds Germination and Seedlings Analysis of Saussurea Costus Royle Ex Benth. In High and Low Altitudinal Villages of District Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand)

Abstract

Saussurea costus (Falc.) Lipschitz, syn. Saussurea lappa C. B. Clarke is a well known and important medicinal plant widely used in several indigenous systems of medicine for the treatment of various ailments, viz. asthma, inflammatory diseases, ulcer and stomach problems. Different pharmacological experiments in a number of invitro and invivo models have convincingly demonstrated the ability of Saussurea costus to exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, anti-cancer and hepatoprotective activities, lending support to the rationale behind several of its traditional uses. The present review is an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of seed germination, survival percentage and seeding analysis of Saussurea costus in lower and higher Himalayan altitudinal villages of district Uttarkashi. The present study deals with successful seeds germination, survival percentage and seedlings analysis of this species using both field and within the polyhouse techniques in low and high altitudinal villages. The materials were collected from the Besaj Sang Ikai, Uttarkashi. Vegetative propagation was achieved by rooting runner cuttings. Seedlings were measured by seed germination and survival percentage, root and shoot length. A significant increment in root length was recorded in high altitudinal Polyhouse condition as compared to low altitude. In low altitudinal village Genwala, open field condition seed germination percentage and survival percentage ranged from 5.00% 18.18% and 18.18% to 25.00% while in low altitudinal village seed germination percentage and survival percentage within Polyhouse were ranged from 23.00% to 45.00% and 40.45% to 66.70% respectively. Highest percentage of seed germination and survival percentage were noticed in high altitudinal village, Bagori (Within Polyhouse) from 40.50% to 60.00% (seed germination), 60.70% to 76.50% (survival percentage) respectively. The leaves are produced in a dense basal rosette, and spiral up the flowering stem. The woolly hairs in high altitude species of the family are the densest, and aid in thermoregulation of the flowers, minimizing frost damage at night, and also preventing ultraviolet light damage from the intense high altitude sunlight.