Pollination in <I>Aconitum heterophyllum</I> Wall. - A Critically Endangered Temperate Himalayan Medicinal Plant Species

Vinod Kumar; Ravinder Raina; Sandeep Sharma

doi:10.36808/if/2016/v142i12/108405

Pollination in Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. - A Critically Endangered Temperate Himalayan Medicinal Plant Species

Authors

Vinod Kumar Department of Forest Products, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
Ravinder Raina Department of Forest Products, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
Sandeep Sharma Department of Forest Products, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2016/v142i12/108405

Keywords:

Aconitum heterophyllum, Critically Endangered, Autogamy, Xenogamy, Geitonogamy, Pollination.

Abstract

Aconitum heterophyllum Wall. is a critically endangered medicinal herb of temperate/alpine Himalaya and cultivation is recommended owing to its large demand in the herbal market for its sustainable utilization. Conserving its natural genetic pool is of immense importance for developing elite lines for cultivation. Pollination studies are important for assessing its breeding system as well as expected variation within a population. Present studies have revealed that Aconitum heterophyllum is mostly out crosser with modest possibility of geitonogamy, both of which require pollinator services and is mostly self-incompatible. No difference in pollination behaviour was observed between natural and domesticated conditions. Considering the obligate out crossing nature of the species, it is expected to encounter higher quantum of genetic variation in this species that can be useful for its genetic improvement.

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