Propagation of Flacourtia Jangomas: an Approach Towards the Domestication of a Wild Fruit Species in Bangladesh

2011, vol. 65, 63–71

Md. Aktar Hossain, Mandira Sen, Muhammed Ikhtiar Uddin Jewel, Md. Alamgir Kabir

Propagation of Flacourtia jangomas: an approach towards the domestication of a wild fruit species in Bangladesh

Received: 29 September 2010; Accepted 15 December 2010

Abstract: The study was carried out to investigate the domestication potential of Flacourtia jangomas (Lour.) Raeusch, a wild fruit species in Bangladesh, through nursery raising from seeds and clonal propagation by stem cutting. Air dried seeds were treated with four different pre-sowing treatments i.e., control (T0), seeds soakedin coldwater for 24 h (T1), 48 h (T2), or 72 h (T3) to explore the seedgermination ability of the species. Pre-sowing treatments significantly enhancedthe germination period,germination percentage andbio- mass production of seedlings. The early germination (least imbibition period), highest germination percentage (81.3) and total dry biomass (0.52 g) was observed in T2 (seeds soaked in cold water for 48 h) while the lowest germination percentage (53.7) andtotal drybiomass (0.23 g) was observedin T3 andT0 respectively. The plant species was highly amenable for rooting for clonal propagation. However, the rooting ability of cuttings was significantly affectedby the application of IBA. The highest rooting percentage (100), maximum root number (5.63), the longest root length (3.28 cm) andbest survival (85.0%) were obtainedfrom the cut - tings treatedwith 0.4% IBA solution followedby 0.2% IBA andthe lowest was in cuttings without treatment. Therefore, pre-sowing treatment ‘soaking of seeds in cold water for 48 h for nursery raising and ‘0.4% IBA treatment’ of stem cuttings for clonal propagation may be recommended for mass production of quality planting stocks for the domestication of the species through homestead agroforestry or in fruit orchards.

Additional key words: Domestication, germination, rooting ability, seedling, stem cutting, wild fruit.

Addresses: M. A. Hossain, Mandira Sen, I.U. Jwel, Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, Univer- sity of Chittagong, Chittagong -4331, Bangladesh, e-mail: [email protected] M. Alamgir Kabir, Division of Biotechnology, College of Life sciences andBiotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Republic of Korea, Department of Agroforestry, Patuakhali Science andTechnology Univer - sity, Patuakhali-8602, Bangladesh.

Introduction nutritional status andto increase the foodsecurity, particularly for the rural poor (FAO 1992). Although Despite of substantial increasing of foodproduc - the wildfruits derivedfromforest areas are not con - tion in the country over the past two decades, people sumedin greater quantities comparedto main food of Bangladesh are still poorly nourished. Many of staples; they add variations in diets, improve the pal- them suffer from malnutrition andits relateddis - atability of staple foods and provide essential vita- eases. Every effort is therefore needed to improve the mins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and cal- 64 Md. Aktar Hossain, Mandira Sen, Muhammed Ikhtiar Uddin Jewel, Md. Alamgir Kabir ories inexpensively. They are also usedextensively as al. 1987). These fruits wouldbe useful as supple - snack eaten, for example, while working in the fields ments to a balanceddiet.The fruits andleaves are or herding livestock. Wild fruit trees offer vital insur- used against diarrhea, dried leaves for bronchitis and ance against malnutrition or famine during the sea- roots against toothache. However, due to the indis- sonal foodshortage and/oremergencies such as criminate felling of forest trees with conversion of drought, floods and wars. forest landfor agriculture, industriesandhousing, Although the exact figure of the wildfruit species the species became one of the threatenedspecies in in the country is not known, Das (1987) compileda the country. Under the circumstances, efforts are nec- list of sixty wildediblefruit species from the forest ar - essary for the preservation andpropagation of the eas of Bangladesh. Flacourtia jangomas (Lour) Raeusch species for genetic conservation andfruit production. (Synonym: Flacourtia cataphracta; Family: Flacourtia- Domestication of wildfruit species is thought to be ceae) commonly known as coffee plum, Indian plum the potential option for protecting andconserving the or Indian cherry, Paniala, Puneala is one of the impor- endangered and threatened species as well as genetic tant wildfruit species in the country. It is a small improvement andmass productionof fruits with (6-10 m tall) tropical deciduous tree (Fig. 1) native to quality. Bangladesh, India and Myanmar commonly cultivated There are different methods of domestication of throughout the Southeast Asia, Eastern Malaya, Phil- plant species including various stages of development ippines andvery limitedway in Surinam, Trinidad, as mentionedby Booth andTurnball (1994) . Among Puerto Rico and Southern Florida. In Bangladesh, this the stages, regeneration or propagation of the species tree species occurs naturally in the forests of play vital roles in the domestication process. Plants Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Sylhet andCox can be regeneratedthrough seedgermination or vege - Bazar (Das 1987; FAO 1984). tative means like budding, grafting, stem cuttings or The fruits of F. jangomas are round, about 1 cm in tissue culture. However, very little is known about diameter, fleshy when fresh, dark red or purple to the regeneration of the F. jangomas. FAO (1984) men- nearly black, smooth andenclosing 6–10 small flat- tionedthat the species is naturally regenerated tenedseeds(Fig. 1) (FAO 1984). The taste varies through seed dispersed by birds. To a limited extent from acidto sweet; it can be eaten out of handor the species is also propagatedfrom seedsin nurseries. made into juice or marmalade. The fruits are highly The seeds are slow to germinate; therefore propaga- nutritious containing 3.9% (basedon dryweight) tion is usually by inarching or budding onto self-seed- protein, 2.2 mg g-1 vitamin C, 21% sucrose with a con- lings andwith rare exception of invitro regeneration siderable amount of Ca, K, P, Fe and Mg (Kermasha et (Chandra and Bhanja 2002). The information about

Fig. 1. Full grown trees (a), ripe fruits (b) andseeds(c) of F. jangomas Propagation of Flacourtia jangomas: an approach towards the domestication... 65 the artificial regeneration of the species through seed pattern. The seedgermination criterion was visible germination or vegetative propagation by stem cut- protrusion on the surface of soil at least 0.5 cm of the ting is very scarce andtherefore extensive research in cotyledons and hypocotyl of the seedlings. Germina- this aspect is needed. The regeneration of the Fla- tion period, cumulative germination (recorded in ev- courtia jangomas through seedgermination andclonal ery alternative day) and germination percentage propagation through stem cuttings have been exam- (from the day of sowing till ending of the germination inedin this studywith an aim to investigate the po - totaling 72 days) were determined from germination tentials of the species for domestication considering data. For each assessment date, daily germination its role in rural livelihood. was summedup to obtain cumulative germination number for each treatment. Germination percentage Material and methods was determined as the number of seeds germinated The study was conducted in the nursery at Chitta- out of 100 from the beginning to the endof germina - gong University campus (locatedat the intersection tion trial. of 22°30'N and91°50'E), Bangladeshwhich enjoys To determine the growth performance, 20 seed- typically tropical climate characterizedby hot humid lings from each treatment were randomly uprooted summer andcool drywinter. The mean monthly tem - four months after sowing the seeds and measured for perature varies from 21.8°C to 29.2°C maximum and total length, shoot length, root length, number of from 15°C to 26°C minimum. Relative humidity is leaves and root collar diameter. The seedlings were minimum (64%) in February andmaximum (95%) in then separatedinto shoot, root andleaf components June to September. Mean annual rainfall of the area is and dried in electric oven at 70°C for 48 h for dry about 300 cm, which mostly takes place between June weight assessment. Vigor index of the seedlings was andSeptember. The daylength varies from 10 h 45 calculated according to Abdul-Baki and Anderson min in December to 13 h 25 min in June. (1973) as germination percent × seedling total length (i.e. total of shoot and root length). Propagation by seeds Clonal propagation by stem cutting Fruit collection and seed extraction Growing of stockplants, preparation of cuttings Fully ripe fruits of F. jangomas were collectedin and setting up the experiments early June from selectedtrees from the forest areas of Rangamati Hill District. Fruits uniform in size were Shoots of F. jangomas were collectedfrom 2-year used in this study to reduce the non-treatment varia- oldstockplants raisedin the nursery orchard. tions at the germination stage since germination per- Two-node cuttings with two leaves trimmed to half centage andseedlingvigor was foundpositively corre - were preparedandimmersedbriefly in a solution of fungicide Diathane M45 (Rohm and Co. Ltd., France; latedto seedsize (Indiraet al. 1999). Collectedfruits -1 were kept in water for a week to allow flesh pulp rot- 2gL in water) to avoidfungal infection. The cut - ting and depulping. Extracted seeds were dried and tings were then rinsed and kept under shade for 10 storedin an airtight container until pre-sowing treat - min in open air. The cutting length anddiameterwere ments were started. kept uniform to avoidnon-treatment variation. The average length anddiameterof the cuttings were 5.5 Pre-sowing treatments and setting up to 6.5 cm and 2.3 to 2.7 mm respectively. the experiment Rooting ability was testedby treating the cuttings Driedandstoredviable seeds(at 12% moisture with 0% (control), 0.2%, and0.4% IBA solutions. content) were treated under four different pre-sowing Cuttings were treatedby dippingthe cutting base into treatments in water. Seeds were soaked in cold water IBA solution andplantedinto perforatedplastic trays (25 ± 2°C) for 0 h (control; T0), 24 h (T1), 48 h (T2) (12 cm depth)filledwith coarse sandmixedwith fine or 72 h (T3). A Completely Randomized Block Design gravel. The trays containing the cuttings were then was adopted for the experiment with three replica- placed into a non-mist propagator (Kamaluddin tions for each treatment. Three trays (each contained 1996) for rooting following a complete randomized 50 seeds served as a plot) were used for 3 replications block design. per treatment. Thus each treatment consistedof 150 A total of 180 cuttings were placed under three dif- seeds (3×50) and a total of 600 seeds were subjected ferent treatments with three replications. Treated to 4 different pre-sowing treatments. Seeds were dib- cuttings were plantedin 18 trays, 6 trays for each bledat a depthof 0.5 cm andcoveredwith thin layer treatment (0%, 0.2% and0.4% IBA solution) and of soil. each tray (containing 10 cuttings) servedas a plot. The effects of pre-sowing treatments were ex- Thus the number of replicate cuttings per treatment ploredby recordingimbibition periodandcounting was 60. The cuttings were wateredonce only just af - germinated seeds to determine the seed germination ter setting into the propagator. A light water spray 66 Md. Aktar Hossain, Mandira Sen, Muhammed Ikhtiar Uddin Jewel, Md. Alamgir Kabir was done every morning with a hand spray till the Results and discussions transferring the rootedcuttings from the propagator. Regeneration from seeds Propagator environment, aftercare and transplanting Germination period Relative humidity was maintained at around 85% Different pre-sowing treatments significantly af- in the propagator. The propagator was openedtwice a fectedthe germination periodandgermination per - day, early in the morning and the late afternoon to fa- centage of F. jangomas seeds (Table 1). The fastest cilitate gaseous exchange. After six weeks in the root- seed germination (started at day 22 and ended at day ing medium, the rooted cuttings in the propagator 66) with highest germination percentage (82.7) was were weanedbefore transferring them into poly bags, observedwhen seedswere soakedin coldwater for 48 particularly towards the end of rooting period during h (T2) followedby 72 h (T3). On the other hand,the root lignification. For weaning, the propagator was slowest germination (started at day 32 and ended at kept open at night for three consecutive days and then day 69) with lowest germination percentage (61.3) at day and night for another three days. The weaned was in control (T0). Seedsoaking in water is known rootedcuttings were then transferredinto poly bags to enhance the germination by reducing the imbibi- filled with soil and decomposed cowdung at a ratio of tion period. For instance, Hossain et al. (2005a, 3:1. Before planting into the poly bags, rootedcut - 2005b) reportedthe fastest germination of depulped tings were measuredfor rooting percentage, number seeds of Terminalia belerica and T. chebula (31days and of roots developed per cutting and the length of lon- 29 days after sowing seeds respectively) soaking in gest root. cold water for 48 h compared to 41 days and 45 days To explore steckling capacity (the survival ability respectively in controlled seeds. However, Uddin of the rootedcuttings after transferring into poly (2005) mentionedthat early germination of T. belerica bags), transplantedpoly bags were kept in shadefor a and T. chebula was observedin seedssoakedin coldwa- week before placing them in sun for normal growth. ter for 72 h. The enhancedgermination percentage of After four months, the initial growth performance of seeds after soaking in water was supported by the the rootedcuttings was assessedby measuring total studies of many authors. Hossain et al. (2005a, 2005b) height, collar diameter and leaf number for all cut- reportedthat the highest germination of T. belerica and tings. T. chebula (88.9% and66.7% respectively) was in depulpedseedssoakedin coldwater for 48 h followed Data analysis by 24 h. The lowest germination (58.9%) was in the All data were analyzed with Microsoft Excel and control variant. Rashidet al. (1990) reportedthat SPSS. Possible treatment variations were exploredby seeds of T. chebula and T. belerica pre-treatedby soaking Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) andDuncan‘s Multi - in coldwater for 48 h with successive treatment by ple Range Test (DMRT). Germination percentage val- 10% sulfuric acidfor 20 min showedup to 70% germi - ues and rooting percentage were adjusted accordingly nation. Similar result was reportedby Ara et al. (1997) using arc sign transformation formula before putting who mentioned70–75% germination in T. belerica the data into analysis of variance since both the ger- seeds after soaking in water for 48 h and depulping the mination percentages androoting percentages were fruits thereafter. Again, Uddin (2005) reported the distributed between the range 30 and 100. highest germination percentage in depulped seeds, soakedin coldwater for 48 h for both the species T. chebula (73.3) and T. belerica (93). Seed germination pattern Mean daily germination percent varied in different days for different pre-sowing treatments for F. jangomas seeds (Fig. 2). The highest mean daily germina-

Table 1. Germination period of F. jangomas seeds as a result of various pre-sowing treatments Treatment Variables p T0 T1 T2 T3 Germination initiation (Day) 31.0±0.57a* 24.0±0.00b 22.0±0.57c 22.0±0.57c .000 Germination completion (Day) 69.7±0.33a 68.0±0.57ab 66.0±0.57b 60.0±1.15c .000 Germination percentage 61.3±2.88b 73.3±2.90b 82.7±2.88a 63.7±2.88c .031

pare with other authors due to lack of related litera- ture.

Growth performance Different pre-sowing treatments significantly enhancedthe growth performance of seedlingsas mea - sured by vigor index and biomass production of seedlings (Table 2, Fig. 4). The vigor index was maximum (2426.9) in the T2 followedby T1 (1968.6) andthe lowest (1399.6) was in T0. The result of the present study was supported by Hossain et al. (2005a, 2005b) and Uddin (2005). They obtained highest vigor index Fig. 2. Mean daily germination percentage of F. jangomas for T. belerica and T. chebula seedlings developed from seeds treated with various pre-sowing treatments the depulped seeds soaked in cold water for 48 h. The lowest was in controlled seeds. tion percentage of seeds in T2 (3.0), T1 (2.8), T3 Shoot biomass (dry weights) was the maximum in (2.5) andT0 (2.5) was observedat 44, 44, 40 and56 T2 followedby T1 andit was the lowest in T0 (Table days after sowing respectively. The cumulative germi- 2). The finding of the present study was supported by nation percent in treatments rose sharply from 48 reports from Hossain et al. (2005a, 2005b) who days to 66 days after sowing the seeds and remained foundmaximum shoot dryweights for T. belerica and constant up to the endof the germination test (Fig. T. chebula in seedlings germinated from the seeds 3). The germination pattern of seeds of F. jangomas soaked for 48 h. Though Uddin’s (2005) work agreed under different treatments was not possible to com- with the current report for T. chebula, the result for T. belerica was different. He mentioned that the shoot dry weight was significantly higher in the seedlings of T. belerica when the seeds were soaked in cold water for 72 h than that of the other treatments. The average leaf dry weights per seedling also var- iedremarkably in various treatments (Table 2). Simi- lar results were reportedby Hossain et al. (2005a) for T. belerica andHossain et al. (2005b) for T. chebula. However, Uddin (2005) did not observe significant variation in leaf dry weight of T. belerica and T. chebula among the soaking treatments. The mean dry weight of roots for different treatments significantly differed among the seeds subjected to the soaking periods (Table 2). Hossain et al. (2005b) and Uddin (2005) however, mentioned that the average root dry weight of T. chebula and T. belerica seedlings respectively from the seeds soaked for 48 h Fig. 3. Cumulative germination percentages of F. jangomas in coldwater was significantly higher than the other seeds soaked in cold water for various periods of time of treatments. Again, in T. chebula seedlings, it was high- F. jangomas seeds treated with various pre-sowing treat- est in seedlings grown from the seeds soaked in cold ments water for 24 h as reported by Uddin (2005).

Table 2. Dry weight of shoot, root, leaf and total dry weight of seedlings under different pre-sowing treatments four months after sowing the seeds Treatment Variable p T0 T1 T2 T3 Vigor index 1399.6±3.3b 1968.6±11.5ab 2426.9±36.8a 1560.0±16.8b .000 Shoot weight (g) 0.06±0.01c 0.09±0.03b 0.13±0.06a 0.12±0.03a .041 Root weight (g) 0.04±0.015b 0.06±0.01b 0.10±0.03a 0.11±0.03a .026 Leaf weight (g) 0.13±0.01b 0.21±0.05ab 0.28±0.12a 0.25±0.06a .041 Total weight (g) 0.23±0.02c 0.36±0.09b 0.52±0.22a 0.48±0.13a .021

Note: *Means followedby the same superscript letter (s) are in each row not significantly differentat p<0.05, according to Duncan’s Multi- ple Range Test (DMRT). ± indicates the standard error of mean. 68 Md. Aktar Hossain, Mandira Sen, Muhammed Ikhtiar Uddin Jewel, Md. Alamgir Kabir

Fig. 5. Rooting ability of cuttings of F. jangomas treatedwith various concentrations of IBA solution

Fig. 4. Growth performance of F. jangomas seedlings four portedthat the exogenous auxin (0.4% IBA) signifi - months after sowing the seeds given with different cantly enhances the rooting percentage of cuttings of pre-sowing treatments jackfruit. Similar result was reportedby Abdullahet al. (2005) for mature stem cuttings. The total dry weight per plant increased signifi- Baccaurea sapida The effect of IBA on the rooting of stem cuttings of cantly with increasing soaking periodup to 48 h (Ta- was studied by Dias et al. (1999). ble 2). Similar trendof total dryweight of the seed- Platanus acerifolia They foundthat the cuttings treatedwith 6000 ppm lings was reportedby Hossain et al. (2005a, 2005b) IBA were better rootedthan the control cuttings. for T. belerica and T. chebula seedling. Uddin (2005) Rosa et al. (1997) observedthat Tachi-branco mentionedthat the total dryweight of the T. chebula ( ) cuttings treatedwith 4000 seedling was highest in seedlings developed from Sclerolobiumpaniculatum ppm IBA were rootedbest andthe cuttings without seeds soaked in cold water for 48 h but for T. belerica treatment were rooted worst. Kamaluddin et al. was the maximum in seeds treated with 72 h soaking (1996) recorded significant increases both in percent- in cold water. age rooting andnumber of roots with the application Clonal propagation by stem cutting of IBA for Artocarpus heterophyllus. Again Kamaluddin et al. (1998) foundthat appliedauxin significantly in - Rooting ability creased rooting ability of Chickrassia velutina cuttings. Rooting percentage of cuttings was significantly In this work root number of cuttings enhancedsig - enhancedby exogenous auxin (IBA) (Table 3, Fig. 5). nificantly due to the applied IBA (Table 3, Fig. 5). The The highest rooting percentage (100%) was obtained maximum number of roots (5.6) was developed in from the cuttings treatedwith 0.4% IBA solution fol - 0.4% IBA treatedcuttings andminimum (2.14) in lowedby cuttings treatedwith 0.2% IBA (96.7). The cuttings without IBA treatment. lowest rooting percentage (70.0) was in cuttings The findings of several authors supported the en- without treatment (control). hanced number of roots developed due to the IBA Appliedrooting hormone IBA is known to inten - treatment. For instance, Hossain et al. (2002) men- sify the rooting percentage of cuttings as citedby tionedthat that exogenous auxin (0.4% IBA solution) many authors. For examples, Hossain et al. (2002) re- significantly increasedthe root number of cuttings in

Table 3. Rooting percentage of F. jangomas cuttings as affected by the various concentrations of IBA solution Treatment Variable p control 0.2% IBA 0.4% IBA Rooting percentage 70.0±2.88b 96.7± 3.33a 100.0±.0a 0.021 Root number 2.1± .16c 4.4± .51b 5.6± .24a 0.004 Root length (cm) 2.3±.21b 3.0±.33ab 3.3±.08a 0.042

Table 4. Effect of IBA concentrations on survival, cutling height, leaf number andshoot length of F. jangomas three months after transferring into the polybags Treatment Variable p control 0.2% IBA 0.4% IBA Survival percentage 40.0±5.77c 71.7±4.41b 85.0±2.88a 0.000 Cutling height (cm) 6.3±.88b 9.1±.99ab 9.6±.84a 0.047 Leaf number 7.0±1.52a 10.4±1.04a 10.6±.57a 0.109 Shoot length (cm) 3.7±.66b 6.3±.63a 6.6±.94a 0.043

Note: *Means followedby the same superscript letter (s) in each row are not significantly differentat p<0.05, according to Duncan’s Multi- ple Range Test (DMRT). ± indicates the standard error of mean. jackfruit. Abdullah et al. (2005) reported the highest (IBA) for rooting (Table 4). However, the result in re- root number in cuttings of B. sapida treatedwith 0.8% spect to the cutling height was not possible to com- IBA solution. Dias et al. (1999) reportedthe highest pare with other authors due to lack of related refer- number of root developed in the cuttings of P. aceri- ences. Average shoot number of cutlings was not sig- folia treatedwith 6000 ppm IBA in greenhouse. The nificantly enhancedby exogenous rooting hormone number of roots increasedwith increasing IBA con - (IBA) application. The result of the present study dif- centration as well as number of roots in the Neem fers from that reportedby Dias et al. (1999) in this re - (Azadirachta indica) cuttings treatedwith 0.2% or gard. 0.4% IBA (Kamaluddin and Ali 1996). In a separate Shoot height was significantly affectedwith the in - experiment for A. indica, Kamaluddin and Ali (1996) crease of IBA concentration (Table 4). The longest recordedsignificantlyincreasednumber of roots by shoot (6.6 cm) was observedin cutlings treatedwith IBA treatment. Again Kamaluddin et al. (1998) found 0.4% IBA solution followedby 6.3 cm in 0.2% IBA that appliedauxin significantly increasedrooting treatment. However, this result was not possible to ability of C. velutina cuttings. compare with other authors due to lack of related ref- Root length was also significantly affectedwith the erences. increasing IBA concentration (Table 3, Fig. 5). The longest root (7.5 cm) was foundin cuttings rooted with 0.4% IBA treatment, whereas the shortest root was recorded from the control cuttings. Similar result was reported by Abdullah et al. (2005) for B. sapida. It is evident from the present study that the cuttings of F. jangomas rootedwell even without any IBA treatment (70%). However, the rooting ability of cuttings in respect to rooting percentage, root number andlongest root length was significantly enhanced with the application of 0.2–0.4% IBA solution. Ap- pliedauxin (IBA) increasing rooting ability of cut - tings was reportedby many authors includingHos - sain (1999), Hossain et al. (2002), Hossain et al. (2004), Abdullah et al. (2005), Dias et al. (1999), Rosa et al. (1997), Kamaluddin et al. (1996), Kama- luddin and Ali (1996) and Kamaluddin et al. (1998).

Steckling capacity Survival percentage of the cutlings (the rootedcut - tings) enhancedsignificantly by exogenous hormone (IBA) application (Table 4, Fig. 6). The highest survival percentage (85%) was for the cuttings treated with 0.4% IBA followedby 0.2% IBA solution (71.7%). The result of the present study is in the line with the results of Nath and Barooah (1992).

Cutling growth performance Fig. 6. Growth performance of F. janogomas cutlings rooted Average height of cutling was also significantly en- as IBA treatment three months after transferring into hanceddueto the application of exogenous hormone polybags 70 Md. Aktar Hossain, Mandira Sen, Muhammed Ikhtiar Uddin Jewel, Md. Alamgir Kabir

Conclusion (Lour.) Raeusch through scanning electron mi- croscopy. Current Science 83: 476–479. Flacourtia jangomas is one of the highly nutritious Das D.K. 1987. Edible fruits of Bangladesh. Bulletin-3 and valuable wild fruit species in Bangladesh deserv- Plant Taxonomy Series, Bangladesh Forest Re- ing domestication in homesteads for many reasons. search Institute ,Chittagong, 19 pp. Although propagation by seedis the prime methodof Dias R. M. S. L., Fronco E. T. H., Dias C. A. 1999. plant multiplication, the presence of inadequate Rooting of stem cuttings of different diameters of seeds with inferior quality is the major constraint that Platanus acerifolia (Aiton) Willdenow. Ciencia hampers plantation programs in the tropics. There- Florestal 9: 127–136. fore for the production of maximum number of vigor- FAO 1984. Food, Nutrition and Agriculture. Food ous seedlings at minimum cost, time and labor, the andAgriculture Organization of the UnitedNa - seedtreatments requiredare carefully assessedand tions, Rome, 44: 68–215. appliedfor a particular plant species. In the present FAO 1992. Forests,Trees andFood.FoodandAgri - study germination performance of F. jangomas in culture Organization of the UnitedNations, terms of early germination, germination percentage, Rome, 26pp. initial growth performance (biomass production) and Hossain M.A. 1999. Rooting ability of cuttings as in- vigor index was found maximum in T2 (seeds soaked fluencedby preconditioningof stockplants to in cold water for 48 h). Besides the seedling produc- light. M.Sc. thesis. Institute of Forestry andEnvi - tion in the nursery, the species is also amenable for ronmental Sciences, University of Chittagong, clonal propagation through stem cuttings. The spe- Chittagong, Bangladesh, 80pp cies foundpotential for clonal propagation even with - Hossain M.A., Islam M.A., Hossain M.M. 2004. out application of any rooting hormone. However, the Rooting ability of cuttings of Swietenia macrophylla best result in respect of rooting percentage, root num- King and Chukrasia velutina Wight et Arn. as influ- ber, root length andsteckling capacity of cutlings was encedby exogenous hormone. International Jour- observedin cuttings treatedwith 0.4% IBA solution. nal of Agriculture and Biology 6: 560–564 Seedtreatment with coldwater for 48 h for nursery Hossain M.A., Rahman M. M., Kamaluddin M. 2002. raising andstem cutting with 0.4% IBA treatment for Rooting ability of cuttings as influencedby etiola- clonal propagation might be effective methods for tion of stockplants andauxin. SUST Studies4: multiplication anddomesticationof this species. 55–65. More study is, however needed to assess the growth Hossain M. A., Arefin M.K., Khan B.M., Rhaman M.A. performance, fruit production and fruit quality of the 2005a. Effects of different seed treatments on planting stocks of the domesticated wild fruit species germination andseedlinggrowth attributes of a through the process. medicinal plant Bohera (Terminalia belerica Roxb.) in Nursery. International Journal of Forest References Usufructs Management 6: 28–37. Hossain M. A., Arefin M.K., Khan B.M. Rahman M.A. Abdul-Baki A.A., Anderson J. D. 1973. Vigor determi- 2005b. Effects of seedtreatments on germination nation in Soybean seedby multiple criteria. Crop andseedlinggrowth attributes of Horitaki Science 13: 630–633. (Terminalia chebula Retz.) in the nursery. Research Abdullah A.T.M., Hossain M.A., Bhuiyan M.K. 2005. Journal of Biological Sciences 1: 135–141. Propagation of Latkan (Baccaurea sapida Indira E. P., Basha S. C. 1999. Effects of seeds from Muell.Arg.) by mature stem cutting. Research different sources on germination and growth in Journal of Agriculture andBiological Sciences 1: Teak (Tectona grandis L. f. ) in the nursery. Annals 129–134. of Forestry 7: 39–44. Ara R., Merry S. R., Siddiqi N.A. 1997. Cultivation Kamaluddin M., Miah M.E., Pandit S. 1998. Propaga- anduses of twelve medicinalplants of Bangla - tion of Chickrassia velutina by cutting: response to desh. Bulletin 7, Minor Forest Products Series, appliedauxin andshoot production.Malaysian Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, Forester 61: 92–100. Chittagong, 27–31 pp. Kamaluddin M., Ali M. 1996. Effect of leaf area and Booth T. H., Turnbull J. W. 1994. Domestication of auxin on rooting andgrowth of rootedstem cut - lesser – known tropical tree species: the Austra- tings of neem. New Forests 12: 11–18. lian experience. In: Tropical Trees :the potential Kamaluddin M. 1996. Clonal propagation of Eucalyp- for domestication and rebuilding of forest re- tus andAcacia hybridby stem cuttings. Research sources, pp. 189–193. Report. Institute of Forestry andEnvironmental Chandra I., Bhanja P. 2002. Study of organogenesis in Sciences. vitro from callus tissue of Flacourtia jangomas Kamaluddin M., Ali M., Bhuiyan M. K. 1996. Effect of auxin rootability of cuttings andgrowth of Propagation of Flacourtia jangomas: an approach towards the domestication... 71

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