Seed Maturity Indices of Semecarpus anacardium Linn under Garhwal Himalayan Condition: A Highly Valuable Medicinal Tree

In the Himalayan region, there are several tree species which are relatively less studied particularly in reference to their seed maturation. Semecarpus anacardium Linn (Marking Nut) is a medicinal tree which is found in Garhwal Himalaya and mostly propagated through seeds. In perennial crops, selection of fruits is an important management techniques adopted after fruit harvest as it plays an important role in production of high quality seedlings in nursery. Hence, studies were formulated to evaluate the influence of fruit colour variation on seed quality characters. Fresh marking nut were collected from Dehradun, Lansdowne and Kalagarh Forest Division, Uttarakhand, India. The fruits were categorized based on the colour into four different groups such as T1 as Ground collection (dried), T2 as fully ripened fruits, T3 as Semi ripened & T4 as unripened (fully green) and seeds were sown on petri dish with five replications of 20 seeds each by Randomized block design (CRD) under Laboratory condition. In all parameters, seed maturity indices- ground collection and fully ripened seeds showed significant results with respect to germination percentage, germination capacity, sedling vigour index, collar diameter and height.