R. Aruna , P. Balasubramanian , P. Radhakrishnan

Abstract

The Attappady Hills Area Development Society (AHADS) as part of eco-restoration programmes in Attappady hills, Western Ghats, initiated tree planting programmes to identify the bird-attracting species. Study sites were chosen in the degraded dry deciduous forests of Attappady and the adjoining Anaikatty reserve forests representing the mixed dry deciduous forest. Frugivorous birds were ascertained by making extended feeding watches on fleshyfruited plant species and bird counts along transects. Twenty nine bird species were observed to eat fruits. Among the frugivore visitors, bulbuls (5 species) made highest number of feeding visits (45%), followed by mynas, 2 species (16%), babblers, 3 species (14.5%) and others. A total of 40 bird-attracting species were recorded in the study area. Moraceae represented by six species was found to be the most dominant bird-attracting family followed by Rutaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Among the 40 species, Ficus benghalensis attracted maximum number of avian frugivores followed by Ficus microcarpa, Benkara malabarica, Cassine glauca and Canthium dicoccum. A suggestion is made to plant the bird-attracting native species in the degraded sites of Attappady.

Keywords

Frugivory, Birds, Seed Dispersal, Western Ghats

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P. Radhakrishnan , P. R. Renganayaki

Abstract

A study was carried out on four month stored seeds of Simaruba glauca, to improve germination and vigour potential through growth regulators. The seeds were given eight treatments i.e. with two concentrations of IAA, IBA and GA₃(200 and 400 ppm), seed coat removed and untreated control. The results of germination and vigour evaluation at 38 days after sowing revealed the beneficial effect of IAA 200ppm over the rest with 36.33% germination as against 11.67 per cent in control. Improvement of vigour by IAA 200ppm was four fold higher than the control. The ischolar_main length and ischolar_main biomass were increased significantly by GA₃ treatment.

Keywords

Simaruba glauca, Seed Germination, Seedling Growth, Stored Seed, Plant Growth
Regulators (PGR)

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