Estimation of mineral nutrients and proximate principles in the progeny of Bauhinia variegata tree

To select superior progenies having higher nutrients and better proximate principles, the seeds were collected during March and April from phenotypically superior trees of Bauhinia variegata Linn. Growing at 32 sites in the natural distribution area in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand. These were sown in the nursery in the last week of June. After sixteen month’s growth the leaf samples from the progeny were collected and analysed for their mineral nutrients and proximate principles viz., N, P, K, Ca, Mg, dry matter crude protein, crude fibre, ether extract, total ash and nitrogen free extract. All the mineral nutrients and proximate principles were found to vary significantly among sites/genotypes. Significant correlation between different character pairs indicated the possibility of indirect selection in the species.