~ 471 ~ International Journal of Chemical Studies 2017; 5(2): 471-476 P-ISSN: 2349–8528 E-ISSN: 2321–4902 IJCS 2017; 5(2): 471-476 © 2017 JEZS Received: 09-01-2017 Accepted: 10-02-2017 Vinod Kumar Kairon Department of Tree Improvement and Genetic Resources, College of Forestry, Dr Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh-173230, India HP Sankhyan Department of Tree Improvement and Genetic Resources, College of Forestry, Dr Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh-173230, India Correspondence Vinod Kumar Kairon Department of Tree Improvement and Genetic Resources, College of Forestry, Dr Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh-173230, India Genetic Variability in Soapnut (Sapindus Mukorossi Gaerten.) among different seed sources in Himachal Pradesh Vinod Kumar Kairon and HP Sankhyan Abstract An experiment was conducted to select better seed sources for improved genetic material and quality production of soapnut (Sapindus mukorossi). Genetic variability was evaluated for different traits viz., morphometric traits, germination parameters, percent seed oil and progeny performance traits were carried out among different twenty four seed sources from Himachal Pradesh. The study revealed significant variation among different seed sources. Seed sources which have higher seed weight and seed diameter showed better performance over others, those seed having lower seed weight and seed diameter comparatively. Banjar seed source was found to be superior and best, followed by Garsa seed source, for all morphometric traits, germination parameters, percentage seed oil content and progeny performance traits over all other seed sources studied. Positive significant genotypic and phenotypic correlation was found between all traits, which suggest that selection for any one of these will be reliable for others also. Highly positive significant genotypic and phenotypic correlation was shown by all traits. High heritability with low genetic advance is associated with seed diameter. All traits were more over genetically controlled as revealed by high heritabilities. Keywords: Sapindus mukorossi, morphometric traits, germination, oil content and progeny performance traits 1. Introduction Sapindus mukorossi or Soapnut tree (Ritha) is an important multipurpose tree of North India, belonging to family Sapindaceae. The tree is native to China and Japan and much cultivated in North India, in moister tracts along the foot hills of Himalayas from Ravi eastward up to 1500 m elevation. The tree is also found wild in the valleys of North Western Himalayas, Assam and West Bengal. It is also planted in avenues. In Nagaland, it is cultivated extensively for use in small scale industries. The tree is cultivated in many parts of India as ornamental and for saponaceous fruits. In Sapindus mukorossi, the seed have mechanical dormancy due to hard seed coat (Troup, 1921) [19] . The dried fruits of ‘Ritha’ are most valuable part of the plant. Its fleshy portion contains saponin, which is used in preparation of washing soap and as such is used for preparation of quality shampoos. The fruit is of considerable importance for its medical value as well. As per Ayurveda, Unani and Tibetan system of medication, it is useful in treating in number of human maladies like bad cold, facial pimples, irregularities in salivation, chlorosis, epilepsy, constipation, nausea, etc. It is also used as expectorant and antihelminthic in small doses. The Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, has recently developed a contraceptive cream out of ritha fruit. The same is marketed under the trade name “Consap” (Bahar and Singh, 2007) [3] . Saponin chemically extracted from Sapindus mukorossi has properties such as micellar concentration, emulsification and hemolytic activities. Emulsification activity for water- kerosene and various plant oils are excellent in comparison with synthetic surfactant like sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Hence crude Ritha is used as an economical bio-surfactant (Ghagi et al, 2011) [10] . Extraction of saponins from the pericarp of Sapindus mukorossi is used as compatibilizer in nanocomposites. Saponin increase mechanical properties and decrease roughness of nanofibrels (Cherian et al., 2012) [6] . Considering vast semi-wild distribution of soapnut, it is expected to have considerable genetic variation. Sufficient information on such aspect is lacking in this species despite of its many uses. Environmental factors in combination with genetic and physiological factors play an important role in determination of plant potential for seed quality. These characters appear to be under strong genetic control (Roy et al. 2004) [16] .