Variation in seed and seedling traits of Celtis australis, a multipurpose tree, in Central Himalaya, India

Seeds of Celtis australis were collected from 13 different sources, ranging from 550 to 1980 masl, in Central Himalaya, India. Significant (p = 0.05) variations were observed for seed traits among provenances. However, among various characters, seed weight exhibited maximum variation between seed populations compared to other morphological characters. Between provenances, seed weight ranged from 47.8 to 83.1 g/1000 seed, with mean value of 66.9 +/- 10.7 g/1000 seed. Significant (p = 0.01) positive correlation was found between morphological characters of seeds including seed weight and elevational range of seed source. For one year old seedlings, average shoot and root growth was 61.1 +/- 13.3 and 30.5 +/- 5.4 cm, respectively, irrespective of provenance variation. Inter-comparing biomass yield of the seedlings with altitude, average biomass production was 8.4 +/- 2.5, 9.4 +/- 3.3 and 12.7 +/- 1.7 g/plant, respectively, for low (550-1000 masl), middle (1050-1250 masl) and high (1350-1980 masl) altitudinal populations. Significant (p = 0.01) positive correlation between growth performance of seedlings and altitude of the seed source was recorded. Across the provenances, shoots had the highest proportion of total biomass (42.3%), followed by leaves (32.6%) and roots (24.6%). Among various provenances, Badiyargaon, Agroda, Guptakashi, Jakholi, Gajeli, Srinagar and Palampur populations produced heavier seedlings and grew faster compared to seedlings of other sources.