Seed quality and seed storage in fruit for short-term conservation of germplasm in Coorg mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco)

摘要

The many species of Citrus are distributed predominantly in southeast Asia. In India, diversity is largely found in the northeastern region (Arora 1988) which harbours valuable genes for the genetic improvement of cultivars. Presently, the genetic diversity is being rapidly eroded owing to large-scale destruction of plant habitats for various domestic and commercial reasons. In fruit crops, fruits generally are collected during plant exploration trips. Later the seeds are extracted and conserved in agenebank. However, if the seed-conservation process in the genebank is delayed, the seeds may die and valuable genetic diversity can be lost. Most citrus seeds exhibit orthodox and a few recalcitrant type of storage behaviour, Kopan (1967) suggested that seeds could be stored in the fruit without loss of viability. Fruit preserves the seeds in natural conditions and prevents their drying out. This paper reports on an attempt to conserve seeds in fruit to maintain seed quality in terms of high viability and vigour until they are separated from the fruit and stored in a genebank.