Record Details

Identification of Sex of Nutmeg seedlings based on morphological and chemical characters

DSpice at Indian Institute of Spices Research

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Field Value
 
Creator KRISHNAMOORTHY, B
ZACHARIAH, JOHN T
RAVINDRAN, P N
GOPALAM, A
 
Date 2002-08-03T11:35:59Z
2002-08-03T11:35:59Z
1992
 
Identifier Journal of plantation crops Vol.20(supplement): 194-199(1992)
0304-5242
http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/204
 
Description The main problem facing nutmeg cultivation is the segregation of the seedling progenies into male and females in the ratio of 1:1. Several methods has earlier been reported for the possible identification of the sex at the seedling stage. The present paper deals with the suitability of some of these methods at the nursery stage. The study of crystal patterns in the epidermal cells of the leaves revealed that the crystal differentiation was very clear in the mature leaves in almost 70 per cent of males and 78 per cent of female plants, whereas in the case of seedlings, the crystal pattern was not definite and so the sex could not be differentiated in seedlings based on crystal study. The study of the seedling morphological traits like sprout colour, days for germination, leaf shape, size, venation,etc. Led to the conclusion that none of these characters can be taken as a guide to sex the nutmeg plant. Out of a number of colour tests carried out on the leaf exudates or alcoholic leaf extracts of male and female trees. This test gave a 'faint green' colour with the male and a 'see green' colour with he female plant. This is reproducible in the case of all the trees tested, but not in the seedlings.
 
Format 308191 bytes
application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Publisher Indian Society for Plantation Crops, Kasargod
 
Title Identification of Sex of Nutmeg seedlings based on morphological and chemical characters
 
Type Article