EXPLOITATION OF SEED VARIABILITY IN PONGAMIA PINNATA (L) PIERRE–A BIO-FUEL SPECIESDoddabasawa and Ravikumar S. PatilAbstract An experiment on variability of Pongamia pinnata seeds on germination rate and early seedling growth was conducted at College of Agriculture, Bheemarayanagudi in Yadagiri district of Karnataka-India. In the present investigation higher germination percentage was recorded with single seeds (96.2%) followed by double seeds (91.98%) and lower germination percentage was recorded in single seeds plus chaffy (84.74%). However, higher seedling vigour index was observed in single seed (4577) followed by single seed plus chaffy (4164) and significantly lower seedling vigour index was recorded in double seed (3990). In conclusion the pods with single seeds must be used for multiplication for better performance and quality seedlings production for large scale plantations. |