Genetic Variation in Biochemical Contents in Foliage of Twenty Seed Sources of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb

Twenty seed sources of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. scattered over a wide range ofits occurrence in India were studied for the pattern of biochemical characters in foliage , viz. , total protein , proline , polyphenols , starch and total carbohydrate. The results revealed the presence of highly significant variations among the characters studied except starch content. Genotypic coefficients of variance and variability were large compared to the environmental coefficients of variance and variability for total protein , proline , polyphenols and total carbohydrate , indicating that these are under genetic control. Starch content was observed to be under the influence of environment. The estimates of heritability and expected genetic gain were high for all characters , except starch content , which registered lower values of heritability and genetic gain. The correlations of starch content with survival and growth at phenotypic level were positive and significant. The seed sources from Lucknow and Muzaffarnagar exhibited good performance and are recommended for immediate planting programmes in this region.