Bypassing juvenility, first report of functional flowering and fruiting in six months old seedlings 0f Cordia myxa L.(lasuda)

Abstract

Cordia myxa L. is a medium-sized broad-leaved deciduous tree of flowering plant belongs to Boraginaceae. It grows naturally from dry desert India up to hills of Himalayas in India up to 1400 m elevation above mean sea level. Fruits are mostly used for pickle making and dried for its use in local off season vegetable recipes since long time. The ripe fruits are full of vitamins and its regular use is supposed to be helpful in good growth of hair. Lasuda preparations are, thus, good for people whose constitution might have tendency to go bald. In addition to fruit, Lasuda bark and roots are also very effective as a local remedy against cough, cold and various other ailments connected with indigestion and throat problems. At regional research laboratory of Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni (India) we are working for the last 12 years on various aspects like propagation and development of promising strains of Cordia myxa. Grafting/budding techniques have been standardized to produce true to type precocious plants which bear flower and fruits in two to three years. However, flowering and fruiting has been observed in six months old seedling of seed origin, which can be ascribed to biochemical or cellular changes. Early flowering and fruiting is a rare phenomenon in tree seedlings of the species which otherwise flower at the age of 7-8 years. This could be very useful for manipulating the species at gene as well as physiological level in future to get early fruits and breeding of the species.