Studies on Fruit Characteristics at Different Growth Stages and Enhancement of Seed Germination in Mountain Sweet Thorn (Flacourtia montana J. Graham)
摘要
Mountain sweet thorn is an underutilized fruit species. It bears attractive red fruits, which are relished by the population in its areas of distribution. Information on morphological and physicochemical characteristics of fruits at three different stages of maturity was generated in the study. Significant variations in fruit length, width, weight, pulp content (%), seed content (%), number of seeds, total soluble solids, titratable acidity and total anthocyanin content were recorded. Further, the effect of seed treatments on seed germination and seedling growth was studied in this recalcitrant species. Soaking of seeds in gibberellic acid (GA3; 500 ppm) for 24 h before sowing resulted in the highest percentage of germination and seedling vigour index.