Supervisors:
Dr. U. Dhar, GBPIHED, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora
Prof. Y.P.S. Pangtey, D.S.B. Campus, Kumaun University, Nainital
Summary:
Among the
various climatic zones of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR), the alpine zone
serves as a special habitat for native and high value medicinal plants. A
critical review of Himalayan MPs suggest the presence of over 1700 plant
species of known medicinal value. In medicinally important plant families
in IHR, Apiaceae emerges as an important family.
The
genus Anglica, in India, is
known for its traditional and contemporary uses worldover. Anglica glauca,
a perennial, glaucose, aromatic herb, is well distributed across the
IHR between 1800-3700m asl. Considering the conservation and economic
importance of the species, it is recognized as one of the high value plant
species in the region. The root is preferred utilizable part and harvested
by the local inhabitants not only for their domestic use and local trade
but also to meet the demand of pharmaceutical industry. In view of the
large scale destructive harvesting accompanied by the rapid alteration in A.glauca
habitats the species has been listed in Red Data Book (RDB) of Indian
plants. Review of existing information revealed that very little
scientific information exists on availability, extraction trends,
reproductive biology and aspects related to development of propagation
methods. Considering this gap in knowledge the present work was conducted
to analyze and discuss aspects of : (i) availability of stocks in natural
sites and the extent of extraction, (ii) morphological variability and
reproductive biology, (iii) seed dormancy and germinability, (iv)
possibilities of clonal propagation, and (v) monitoring of survival
potential for reintroduction of the species.
Chapter 2, describes the resource availability in natural habitats and its
extraction trends. It provides the details on population size and
distribution of A. glauca in
selected study sites. Phytosociological investigations revealed that
density of A. glauca in natural populations is low (0.95-1.8 ind/m2)
and the species contributes 1.8-7.1% of total stand density. Relationship
with altitude and soil parameters suggest that species performs well on
lower elevational and nutrient rich sites.
Inhabitants
response formed the basis for assessing the use pattern and extent of
trade. Also, the perception of respondents were analyzed across centers,
gender classes and age classes.
Chapter 3. analyzes variability in morphological and reproductive characters. The
reproductive part was found to have significant positive correlation with
altitude (e.g. number of umbellets/umbel r= 0.857, p<0.05; umbel
diameter r=0.735, p<0.05). However, in many cases vegetative characters
showed significant negative correlation with altitude (e.g. maximum stem
diameter r= -0.929, p<0.05; maximum root diameter r=- 0.926,
p<0.05). An attempt has been made to discuss pattern of pollination and
species specific reproductive strategies. It was found that inspite of
high reproductive effort, reproductive output (in terms of seed set ) of
the species is much low. These observations indicate that biological
features of the species also need to be analyzed for developing
conservation strategies.
Chapter 4. describes various chemical interventions used to improve seed
germination and reduce MGT. In general, seeds of A. glauca show high
viability (86.7-90.3%). However, germination under control condition was
relatively low (8.9-64.4%). Germination ability of seeds from different
populations were compared to determine inter population variability.
Compared to control and other treatments, IAA proved to be the most
effective treatment in improving germination. The maximum germination
(91.1%) was obtained in 800 ppm IAA. KNO3 treatment showed
moderate improvement on germination, whereas
thiourea exhibits a variable range of results.
Chapter 5. describe the conventional and non-conventional propagation protocols
developed for the target
species. Experiments on vegetative
propagation were conducted using rhizome cuttings. Rooting of rhizome
cuttings was fairly high (62.5%) even without any intervention. However,
further increase in rooting percentage was possible through the
application of different concentrations (100-400 ppm) of IBA.
In vitro propagation protocol was developed through somatic embryogenesis.
Sterilization was achieved through 0.1% HgCl2 .
Over 86% callus was induced using 3mM 2,4-D and centpercent callus formation was
achieved in NAA, BAP combination. Somatic embryo was encapsulated using
Sodium alginate and CaCl2. Using sand:soil:Peat (1:1:1), 75%
acclimatization of rooted plantlets was achieved.
Chapter 6. deals with the possibilities of revegetation with an aim to reintroduce the species in natural habitats. The study discusses the results of seedling survival and growth performance at different locations. The transplanted seedlings in Lata village (alt. 2220m asl), which is located at a comparable altitude and in situ environmental conditions showed encouraging results. Over 62% seedlings survived and performed better at this site. The results of different aspects of A. glauca has helped in developing a comprehensive conservation and utilization strategy of the species (Chapter. 7).
Anil Kumar Bisht
Subject : Botany
Ph. D - Botany Kumaun University, Nainital
Correspondence Address:
Anil Bisht, CBD/GBPIHED, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora,Uttaranchal-263 643
Work Title