Variability in Seed Characteristics of Jatropha curcas Linn. From Hill Region of Uttarakhand

Variability studies are the prerequisite and of paramount importance for developing tree improvement strategy. Jatropha curcas has recently come into prominence as source of bio-diesel. This species has naturalized stands spread all over India and due to varied climatic conditions across the country is likely to have a high degree of variability. In view of this, variability through seed characteristics was analyzed in its seeds. Significant differences were found among the seed sources for all the parameters studied. The mean fruit weight ranged from 2.21 to 3.41g, seed weight from 0.58 to 0.81g, seed length from 1.49 to 1.81cm, seed circumference from 2.97 to 3.51cm, seed moisture content from 6.20 to 10.44% and seed germination from 53.33 to 79.83%. The partition of total variance was influenced at phenotypic level through genotypic variance for seed length, seed circumference; seed moisture content and seed germination, while fruit weight and seed weight were influenced by environmental variance. In case of genetic component analysis, heritability value was found high for seed germination percentage (85.34%) coupled with moderate genetic gain which signifies that seed germination is under genetic control can be used for improvement of this species.