www.scholarsresearchlibrary.com t Available online a Scholars Research Library Archives of Applied Science Research, 2015, 7 (2):25-29 (http://scholarsresearchlibrary.com/archive.html) ISSN 0975-508X CODEN (USA) AASRC9 25 Scholars Research Library A comparative study on phenological events in two populations of Peganum harmala * Nida Aslam 1 , Aijaz A Wani 1 , Irshad A Nawchoo 1 , Khaleefa Aslam 1 and Mohd Aslam Bhat 2 1 Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J&K, India 2 Department of Botany, Degree College Sopore, Baramulla, J&K, India _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT The aim of present work was to study comparative phenological events in diploid and tetraploid populations of Peganum harmala. In this paper an attempt has been made to record data regarding Sprouting, Flowering, Fruiting, and Senescence. This was done for a period of two years and it was carried out in two provinces (Kasmir and ladakh) of Jammu and Kashmir. Diploid and tetraploid individuals show divergent phenologies but the duration of different phases was similar. The different phases started approximately 1 month earlier in diploids than in tetraploids. Such phenological separation may arise because of genetically based differences between the two as a consequence of chromosome doubling or selection subsequent to the chromosome doubling event. Alternatively, phenological separations may arise if diploids and tetraploids occupy slightly different environments, which affect the timing and rate of growth. Keywords: Phenology, population, flowering, fruiting _____________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Peganum harmala L. (2n = 24) is a perrenial herb growing in Africa, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, South America, Maxico and several other countries[1]. The plant grows normally in semi-arid conditions, steppe areas and sandy soils. The plant is known as “Espand” in Iran, “Harmel” in North Africa and “African Rue”, “Maxican Rue” or Turkish Rue” in the United States[2] (Mahmoudian et al., 2002) and “Izband” in Kashmir. In Jammu and Kashmir State, as per the KASH Herbarium records, the plant is found wild in Ladakh, where as in Kashmir, it is found common in graveyards, dry banks and mountain deserts. Phenological studies unravel the pattern of vegetation and reproduction status of a plant [3] (Manjikola et al., 2005). Different researchers have endorsed and identified various environmental factors and correlated them with different phenological events such as initiation of flowering, synchronization of flowering, length of flowering and variation of flowering abundance[4,5,6] (Beaubien and Johnson, 1994; Domengnez and Dirzo, 1995; Inouye et al., 2003). Plant phenologies are the result of interactions among biotic (plant morphological and physiological adaptations and pollinators), climate (photoperiod, temperature and rainfall) and phylogenetic factors that through natural selection determine the most efficient timing for growth and reproduction[7] (Wright and Calderson, 1995). Study site In the present study the plant material was collected from 2 different site populations; one in Kashmir valley and one in Ladakh region of J&K state. These study sites and their characteristic are given in Table 1