TY - BOOK AU - Ray Debabrata AU - Das Gitali AU - Dey S K AU - Raj Shammi TI - Variability in cold tolerance in Hevea brasiliensis seedlings : Plausible source for crop improvement PY - 2003/// PB - Journal of Plant Biology KW - Anthocyanin accumulation KW - Chlorophyll degradation KW - Hevea brasiliensis KW - Loe temperature tolerance KW - Membrane damage KW - Photosynthetic rate N2 - Hevea brasiliensis, a highly cross-pollinated tree species, produces seeds of diverse genetic constituents. To exploit the readily available genetic variability, seedlings were grown at experimental station in Tripural. Two-month-old seedlings showed distinct variability in growth parameters such as plant height, shoot diameter and leaf expansion rate during winter season. On the basis of these parameters, a few seedlings with variable growth parameters were selected for further studies to evaluate their intrinsic capability to withstand low temperature. High vigor (HV) seedlings recorded significantly higher mean plant height, shoot diameter, leaf expansion rate compared to low vigor (LV) seedlings. Further, the CO2 assimilation rate and stomatal conductance recorded in LV seedlings were 65;and 15;less respectively, compared to HV seedlings. In a separate experiment in vitro, the degradation of chlorophyll was 7;over control in HV types whereas 33;lower in LV types when the excised leaves were exposed to low temperature of 10oC for two days. Low temperature of the same severity and duration had caused 57;and 41;membrane injury in LV and HV plants respectively. In the same experiment, LV seedlings had recorded 54;more anthocyanin accumulation compared to other types ER -