Screening Azadirachta indica tree for enhancing azadirachtin and oil contents in dry areas of Gujarat, India

Abstract

Azadirachta indica seed samples were collected from four different agro-ecological regions (AERs) viz., AER-2, AER-4, AER-5A and AER-5B of Gujarat state, India during 2000 to 2002 with an aim to assess variability in azadirachtin, oil and fatty acids content of the seeds and assess correlation of these parameters with morphological characters. Azadirachtin, oil and fatty acids content indicated significant (p<0.01) variations between years and AERs in Gujarat. The azadirachtin ranged from 142 to 9 527 μg·g⁻¹ seed kernel with an average of 2 426 μg·g⁻¹ for the state. AER-5B recorded highest azadirachtin and oil content. Fatty acid composition was found to be affected by environmental factors particularly varying degree of annual rainfall and temperature during fruit ripening period. Conclusively trees growing in AER-5B performed better in term of azadirachtin, oil and stearic acid content. Tree girth at breast height showed no significant relation with these biochemicals.

Keywords

agro-ecological zones / fatty acids / girth-class / neem seed / variability

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