Variation in Seedling Growth of Tamarindus indica (L.): A Threatening Medicinal Fruit Tree Species in Bangladesh

Abstract

Seedling growth is a precondition for conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources which depends upon understanding of breeding system, genetic inconsistency, and evolutionary forces in forest tree improvement. The aim of this study was to determine variation in seedling growth and age-age correlations of Tamarindus indica at population level in Bangladesh. The study revealed significant (P<0.05) differences of seasonal variation in seedling growth. Height and collar diameter growth showed significant (P<0.05) positive correlation with mean monthly rainfall. The study also revealed significant difference (P<0.05) of seedling growth among T. indica population. PCA illustrated rainfall, height growth, and diameter growth as the main characters in this study which defined drought as an additive character for this species. Cluster analysis of similarity showed how seedlings from 22.67°N latitude (origin) separated from others. An increasing trend of age-age correlation was identified in both cases of shoot height and diameter growth. The study concluded that seed collection for either ex situ conservation or seedling production can be done from 22.67°N latitude as seedlings from that area performed better than others, and early clonal selection of T. indica can be done at the age of 9 months.