Studies on seed maturity indices of acacia nilotica in Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

An investigation was carried out to determine the exact maturity stage for seed collection of Acacia nilotica at three locations of Uttar Pradesh i.e. Agra (S1), Mathura (S2) and Hathrus (S3). Among the different collection dates, 2nd week of June (5th collection) across the sites was found best as it resulted maximum germination (85.2+0.46 % at S1, 86.7+0.94 % at S2 and 86.2+0.45% at S3). The results also revealed that moisture content decreased with advancement of maturity. At maturity, moisture content came down from 42.2+0.66 to 21.4 +0.31 % at Agra, 41.8 +0.22 to 22.4+0.26 % at Mathura and 43.5+0.34 to 23.9+0.23 % at Hathrus. At this stage, the colour of pod and seed was yellowish white and brownish black, respectively. Present study revealed that pods of Acacia nilotica may be harvested during 2nd week of June to get maximum germination in Uttar Pradesh.