Variations in morphological and biochemical characters of Seabuckthorn (Hippophae salicifolia D. Don) populations growing in Harsil area of Garhwal Himalaya in India

The present investigation was carried out to study the variation in morphological and biochemical characters of different seabuckthorn (Hippophae salicifolia) populations growing naturally in and around Harsil and Gangotri area of Uttarkashi district of Uttaranchal, India. Plants showed varied morphology from shrub to tree, fruit shape from round to ovate and fruit colour from greenish-yellow to yellow-orange. Number of leaves per 10 cm running length of branch ranged from 10.83 to 29.83 and leaf area from 2.28 to 9.35 cm2. Weight of 100 fruits varied from 11.53 to 18.87g, number of fruits per 10 cm fruiting branch ranged from 10.69 to 99.40 and fruit yield of same length of branch from 1.34 to 15.98 g. Acidity in juice calculated as citric acid varied between 4.89 to 7.93 per cent and total soluble solids ranged between 6.93 to 10.0 ºB. Higher juice percentage was observed in this species as compared to H. rhamnoides and the range was between 70.70 to 79.23 per cent. Based on the study, it is concluded that wide variations exists in different populations of H. salicifolia growing in this re-gion. Intensive survey is required for the selection of some promising forms of H. sali-cifolia in the region and other seabuckthorn growing regions of Garhwal Himalaya.