American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2012, 3, 693-695 doi:10.4236/ajps.2012.35083 Published Online May 2012 (http://www.SciRP.org/journal/ajps) 693 A New Record on Flowering in Harar (Terminalia chebula Retz.) Seedling Kamal Sharma 1 , Sanjeev Thakur 2 , Seema Sharma 1 , Som Dutt Sharma 1 1 Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Regional Horticultural and Forestry Research Station, Hamirpur, India; 2 Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Regional Horticultural Research Station, Kangra, India. Email: kamal_64in@yahoo.com Received May 19 th , 2011; revised July 15 th , 2011; accepted October 11 th , 2011 ABSTRACT Harar (Terminalia chebula), a large deciduous tree belongs to family combretaceae. It grows naturally in greater part of India up to 1500 m elevation. Due to several alkaloids present in fruit, it is used as laxative, purgative and astringent for curing a number of ailments. Keeping in view its medicinal and tanning properties, the authors have been working for the last two decades on various aspects like propagation and development of promising strains of harar. Grafting/bud- ding techniques have been standardized to produce true to type precocious plants which bear flower in two to three years. However, flowering has been observed in three months old seedling, which can be ascribed to biochemical and/or cellular changes. Early flowering is a rare incidence in tree seedlings which otherwise could be very useful for breeding and early evaluation of fruit species. Keywords: Terminalia chebula; Early Flowering; Seedling 1. Introduction Harar scientifically known as Terminalia chebula be- longs to Kingdom Plantae, Division Magnoliophyta, Class Magnoliopsida, Order Myrtales and Family Com- bretaceae. It is a large deciduous tree up to 1.5 - 2.5 m diameter with round crown and spreading branches. The long ovate leaves are acute, in opposite pairs about 10 to 20 cm long. The flowers are dull white in spikes found at the end of the branches. The fruit scientifically known as drupe is hard and generally yellowish green in colour. Harar grows naturally in the sub-Himalayan tract from Sutlej eastwards ascending up to 1500 m elevation and also in deciduous forests of peninsular India [1] and Madhya Pradesh [2]. In Himachal Pradesh, Harar is found up to 1100 m elevation in Sirmour, Hamirpur, Mandi, Bilaspur, Kangra, and Una districts [3]. It can grow in different environmental conditions. Soil supporting Harar vary widely in depth and composition. The mean maxi- mum temperature in its habitat varies from 37˚C to 48˚C, absolute minimum temperature from 1˚C to 15˚C and annual rainfall from 750 to 3250 mm [4]. Terminalia chebula is a rich source of tannin (27.3% - 40.0%) which varies with genotype and geographical location [5]. The Tannins are of pyrogallol (hydrolyzable) type. The chief constituents of tannin are chebulic acid, chebulagic acid, corrilagin and gallic acid. Besides these, fructose, amino acids, succinic acid, betasitosterol, resin and purgative principles of anthroquinone and sennoside nature are also present [6]. Owing to several alkaloids present in fruit, it is used for curing a number of ailments in Ayurvedic and Tibetan systems of medicines. Harar fruit is considered laxative, purgative and astringent along with antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. It has also demon- strated therapeutic activity against Herpes simplex virus (HSV) both in vitro and in vivo [7] and is also useful in sexual transmitted diseases and AIDS [8]. 2. Materials and Methods Ripened fruits of Harar were collected from wild grow- ing trees in the month of December. The fruits were depulped and endocarps were separated and dried in open sun. The endocarps were stored in plastic containers until following March. Kernels were extracted after breaking endocarps manually. Kernels soaked in two per cent Bavistin solution for ten minutes were allowed to germinate in petriplates lined with germination paper. In total, 12,000 kernels were used for germination studies. The petriplates were kept in seed germinator at 30˚C ± 2˚C on 15 th April 2010. Germination started after four days i.e. on 19 th April and completed on 24 th April. The germinated kernels were pricked in polybags of size 9" × 4" for further growth and development. The plants were observed regularly. Growth as well as development pa- rameters viz., height, number of branches, spike length Copyright © 2012 SciRes. AJPS