Cone and seed maturity indices in Cedrus deodara (D.Don, G.Don)

Cedrus deodara (Deodar) has a good seed cycle year, normally after an interval of 4-5 years and hence it becomes necessary to collect abundant quantity of seed during good seed year for their use during lean periods. Besides it, the problem of seed collection in the species also gets compounded by the fact that as soon as the cones mature they break up on the tree itself and the seeds being winged are flown away to long distances, thereby making their collection difficult from the identified mother trees. Under these circumstances it becomes necessary to know the exact time of cone ripening and seed maturity so that they are harvested from the trees itself before their dispersal. In order to understand these problems the present investigation was conducted in Jammu and Kashmir in three regions, i.e. North Kashmir, South Kashmir and Jammu. Seed collection clearly showed wide variation in maturity of cone and seeds amongst different sites depending upon the geographical features and climatic conditions at the time of maturity. Moist, humid and cold environmental conditions were found to delay cone maturation whereas hot and dry conditions hastened cone maturation and dispersal. Cone colour also served as an indicator of maturity because at all the locations, it was dark brown (chocolate colour) in colour with dark green patches at maturity. Another important aspect of maturity indices confirmed during the course of study was the decreasing cone weight and specific gravity with the advancement of maturity. Seed weight and seed germination percent increased with the ripening of seeds and maximum seed weight and germination was recorded prior to dispersal at maturity.