Studies on germination behaviour of Rubus ellipticus seeds collected from different seed sources in Himachal Pradesh, India

A seed germination trial was conducted to study the germination behaviour of Rubus ellipticus seeds collected from different sources in Himachal Pradesh. Significant differences were observed in the germination per cent of seeds collected from different sources. The maximum germination of 84.00% was recorded in seeds collected from the Darlaghat source whereas the minimum germination of 59.00% was recorded in seeds collected from Bharan in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. The seeds collected from Shoghi recorded the highest moisture content of 6.46% whereas the minimum moisture content of 5.39% was recorded from seeds collected from Joharji in the Solan district. The maximum seed weight of 0.07 g (100 seeds) was recorded in seeds collected from Joharji, whereas, the minimum seed weight of 0.05 g was recorded in seeds collected from Beolia in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. It is recommended on the basis of the present investigation that seeds of R. ellipticus be collected from the Darlaghat seed source in Solan district for the raising of seedlings in the nursery owing to better germination.