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lntroduction
TheHimalayanGiantNettle,Girardiniadiversifolio
l5SII I'Jc.OCti'>-ta'!e,(rrint;
lSSl'li'lo.2321-C?Di(Onli.:e)
.' 'r.^-,.;-' 'l-+^ ( 1'1 rry1. fpmelp ones in distal aXilS OfJ U U p O t I L U t O L C , J ! f , J L r r r , t s r r
stem or in same axils as male, someiinressolitary,
racemelilceor paniculate,rarelylongspicaie,1.28cm,
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CERIV'IliJATlOrunf NaVgOROFF[EENiS,FECIiSOFl-ll!'t{,r,l-f,lfi[Jf'JlTTl-E
(GtF,AF"DXhtIlt DtL!ER5IFOt-lA) [rjDIFFEFiEi'.iTArl-rfiT{-iDE
5.R.BALOCH,LOI(HOPUNI,PRIYASATI,B.P.I-AMI-AANDATI7,RSINGH
Divisionof Non-WoodForestProducts,ForestResectrchlnstitute,Dehradun(Uttarakhortd)
,AtsSTRACT
Laboratoryaswell as field study was conducieclon the oney€ar old seedoi Girctrcliniadiversiiolidduririgl"4air2810.
Seedswerefirstmoistenedfor 48 hrsandthereaftersubjectedto warmand coldtreatrnentfor 1 to 4 weellduration.
Seedthereafterwere put to germinatio!'rtest in Petridisplaieson germinationFaperei 25oCin seedgerrniriator.
Germinationwasrecordedafter15daysandconiinuedupto 30days.tnf!eldcond!iionin greenhouseresutltinclicated
that at low altitudesite has intermediatephilologicaldormancyand seedgerminationpevcent vtas25.8%icanbe
overcomeat naturalsiteof Girardiniadiversifoliowereaveragegerrninaiionpercentin differeni soil rnedlawere52,6%o
after4 week.
Keywoidi:Fiber,Hirrialayannettle,Nurserytechnology,Marragementpractices.
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(Friis,198i.),which belongsto the familyUrticaceae,is
n.rn ,'reanaalif'--,,.hillyareaiof-Uttrakhand,=__t,fit_9t.anclspreadinghirsLrie.Maleflowei'ssLlbsessilE
lndiaAlloinNepaliintheeasternandcentralregions,and oipediEellaie;in-buci_.l-rn;-ni-perianr-h-lr:besf,-qyqtq-,-
Puwoin the westernpart of Nepal.Thereareseveral concave,setuloseabaxially,apexacule,siamsns4;
vernacularsto name it: BhangreSisnu,Lel<h!(oSisnu, rudimeniaryovarycLlpular.Femaleflowersca.0.5 rnrn;
ThuloSisnu,potale,Nagaieic (Gurung,'1gBg).Endemic perianth lobes unequal, ihe larger connaie loi::
tn r-rimrre'rnronil;-1,it isoneofthe historicallyimportani cymbiform0.4 mm, enlargedio l- mm ai frutii,sparselirr v | i l t t t d t o y o t | | E E , t u
NonTimberForestproducts(NTFps)for Nepal.lt growsin strigilloseon ouiside,apex3-tooihecl,the smallerlobe
the hilldistrictsfrom eastto west beiweenthe altitudes linear(Chenet al,,?003).Fl.Sep.Oci,fr.Oci.Norr.Foi'esr'
of 1200to 3000meterand canbe for-rnclin ihe tropical margins,shadymoisi places,alongstreams,clisiurbed
areasof Asia and Africa (Friis,1-gBL,Shresihaancl from2800mto3000ml-limalayanregionoflndia,lJep;1,
Hoshion,1998).Thisplantisa perennialherb,1.5to 3.0 China,Indonesia,l(orea,Malalrsia,Sikl<irn,Sri Lanl<a,
m.(g'/,foot) high,with perennialrootstock.ChenJiarui Africa(inclurclingMadagascar)1.Leafblacleusuallynoi
et al. (20031reported Girsrdinia diversifoliasub sp. lobed,rarely3-lobedwiihlobesca.l-/3of orrei'alllerrgiir,
Diversifoliasute. Siraight,branchedor not, 5-angled, margin coarsely dentaie or clouble-clentate;ieeih
25.20cm tail; siemsand petiolesspreadingpubescent graduallylargeriowardleafape;<;stipules6.10mm; male
and armed with stinging and stigosehairs.Stipules inflorescenceunbranchecl,!.2 cn; fenraleiirilorescelrce
oblong-ovate,L.3cm,sparselystrigoseabaxially;peiiole oiien in sameaxilsasmale,7.6cm leafblade3.7-lobed,
2.1-5cm;leafbladelightgreen,elliptic,ovaieoroblateinrarelylowermosileavesnot lobed anclthen mai'g;in
outline,sometimes3-lobed,5.25x4.23cm,herbaceous, regularlyserrate or double-serraie,ieeih gradr-rally
3-veined,lateralveins 3.5 each side, anastonrosing smaller ioward leaf apex; siipules 12.30 mn;
before margin,abaxiallysparselypLibescentand wiih inflorescencesnor'asabove,ofien moreihan 5 cm.Fi'iis
armed siingingand setulosehairs,adaxiallysparsely ei o/.(1981)observedtlraiii growsr,'rildrrnclei-ihefoi-esi
appressedstrigoseand armedwiih short stinginghairs, from eastio vvesicanopybeiweenihe altiir-rclesrangiirg
basecorilateor subiruncate,marginusually3,5, or 7- from L200to 3000m' in Moistanclcanbe founclin ihe
- - lobeclor, rarely,regularlyserrateor someiimesdourbly iropicalareasof AsiaandAfrica..lt growsin ie;''iilerry-^ll-
serral'eai leaf base, apex shori acurnirraieor acute; drained.soil. Nleerajei ol. (?-011),plani oioclirrei--c;iy
cysioiiihs minutely punciiform. Glomerulesdensely assessnreniin relaiionio disiurbance-cin mid-elevaii':ral
armed wiih stinging hairs. Male inflorescencesin foresiof CentralHimalaya,G.diversil'oliodensitya: hill
proximal axils, spicaie, cymose-raiemose o!- iop Wesiernespec'trecoi'cled80 indiviclualirei he.i3i'3'
€rn4 raerain^iian af GirnrcJiitin iit:or<ifalia in
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20L4l Germinationbehaviorof fiberspeciesof Himalayanneiile(Girardiniacliversiioila)in cliffei'entaltitLrde 375
SinghandShrestha(1987)reportedthat the speciesis G.diversifolio.Himalayannetile(Glrordiniadiversiiolia),
shadeloving,cultivationcouldbecombinedasanunder- is foundto be occurringabundantlyin the Garhwal
storeycrop. lts stem containsbastfibersof unique regionof Uttaral<hand.lt vrraslyingunexploredurntil7-8
qualities-strength,smoothness,andwhenit isprocessed yearsbacl<,whenonrealizingitspotentialinthefieldof
appropriatelya silk-likelusterappearswhich580mm in textiles,many organizationsin the regioniniiiaied
length.Theaerialpartisarmedwithnumerousstinging ResearchandDevelopmentactivityonthepossibilitiesof
hairs.Theleavesaresimplelengthrangesfrom10to 35 handloombased productdevelopmentin nettle.
cm andalternatelyarrangedin earlystageandleaves ResearchandDevelopmentinthisfield,ismostlyaimed
become3-7 lobesin later stagesof development. at generatinglivelihoodopportunitiesfor the rural
SethmanAnnetteandDreylingGisela(2001)investigatedpeopleofGarhwal.WhiletheHimalayancommunitiesin
themorphologyofthestinginghairandtheanatomyof Uttarakhand,traditionallyassociatedwith extracting
thestemofthenettlefibre.Theitchisproducedfromthe fibresfrom nettleand hempfor rope-mal<ing,areno
formicacidcontainedintheoilglandsunderthestinging longerpracticingthecrafi,Bhotiaweavercommunity,at
hairs.Accordingto Sinha(1989)decliningtrend of Mangrolivillage,Chamoli(UBFDBcluster)haslearntand
Himalayannettlein the nearbyareasfor collection masteredthe techniqueof nettlefibre processing.
suggestsneed of plantingto meet the increasing UttrakhandBambooand FiberDevelopnrentBoarda
demand.Traditionally,thefiberobtainedfromthe barl< Subsidiaryof UttrakhandForestDepartmenthasbeen
of Himalayannettlehasbeenusedforavarietyofwoven undertakingfirstexploratoryworksinthefieldinnatural
product,namelyclothes('Bhangra''east-coat'),bags, fiberanditsprocessing(Lepchaeto1.,2009;Negi,2009).
sacks,tablecloths,porterstrap,blanket,etc.and are Thespeciesisgrownthroughseedswhicharesownearly
eljn-Kathmandu-and-arealso-exported'to{oreign--springin=-greenl.touse.Whenthevard-largdeh0ugftto
countrieslikeUSAandjapan.Asa result,naturalstands handle,theyareprickedoutintoindividualpotsandare
havebeendecliningdespitethe rulesandregulationof plantedoutin May.Accordingto Sinha(1989)declining
theforestusergroups,astheyareopenfor harvesting trend of Himalayannettlein the nearbyareasfoi"
onlyfromSeptemberto December(Shrestha,2000).In collectionsuggestsneed of plantingto meet the
the easternhillsof Sankhuwasabhadistrictin Nepalis increasingdemand.
well known for nettle productand recentlybeen Thepresentpaperclescribesthemethodusedfor
"discovered"by the internationalmarl<etand local seedgerminationatdifferentaltitudinalplaces.
women have formed m or e t han 100 highly ct t ero ccftrl !_ ,a a ,,, ,
cooperativesto produceHimalayann",ti" .i",n i* in"
lvlatenialMetlaoci
tourist market (Joshiet at., t989). Tankaef al. (2000) Studyorea
reportedthe commercialutilizationof Allo (Girardinia The experimentswere conductedat two siies{l)
diversifolio)by the raisof Sanl<huwasabhafor income ForestResearchInstituteDehradunat latitucle:30"20'["1
generation.Shrestha(1994)reportedthat 95 per cent andlongitude:78'03'E2300Ft.abovesealevel(ll)NWFP
out of 1029familiesin four VDCswere usingyarn spun NurseryChal<rataat 30"41' N and77'50'E longitude,at
from Allo. lt is a sourceof livestockfeed, bedding analtitudeof5g54Ft.abovesealevel.Thebothareaare
material,fuel-wood(Gibbonet al., 1988)andlivefence. at differentaltitudes.Thesoilwasalsodiffereni,
Dunsmoreand Dunsmore(2000)reportedthat the seed Seedgerminationexperimentswerecarriedout in
of nettle containing10-12%oil couidbe usedfor soap fourtvpesofcontainers:
and other oil based industries.Manandhar(1989)
reported that decoctionfrom leaf is used to treat
l-' Hlasllctrays
headache,swollen joints, constipationand fever. A
2' Polybags
decoction of the roots, mixed with Centetlaasiqiica is 3. Hiko(Roottrainers)trayseachhaving25cavities
usedto treat gastrictroubles.Theashesof the plantare 4. Motherbeds.
appliedexternallyfor the treatment of ringwormand
Fottingrnixturre
eczema.lt cah be usedfoi makingblue dye and paper.
Thisspeciesisalsoreportecltobeusedforpreparationof .Garden
soil,riversand,farm yard manureancl
a snackin additionto beingusedasvegetable(Shalinier
Vermicompost.Seed of Girardiniadiversifoliowere
a.,2O08).RajeevDeokotaandChhetri(2009)havefound
procuredfrom Chamolidistricioi Uttrakhand cluringthe
an ingenious use for the allo plani (Girardiana year2009.
diversifolia).O. Richterand F. Pick. Get. Pat (1-9L5) After manuallvclphrrskinoqFol rrro'oicc+nntt.,

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376 TheIndianForester
Table1 : Averagerateof germinationper centin differentcontainers
[A,;rril
T I { 2 : 2 : t l
T Z( 2 :2 : t )
T 3 ( 2 : 1 )
TaQ: I)
I u Lonrrol
M e a n
21
26
z0
a o
t7
20.4
49
48
48
48
3 2
45
48
A A
62
60
34
50.6
49
5 1
qn
52
32
46.8
46
44
50
53
30
46.6
38
35
24
20
72
25.8
48
A A
62
62
45
s2.6
43.75
44.1,3
44.63
42.88
27.83
5 L
54
25
A A
3 1
37
Substratemedia Container Mearr
C1-Polybags C2-Hikotrays C3-Plastictrays C4-Motherbeds
Site| | Sitell Site| | Site-ll SiteI I Site JI SiteI Slte-|I
T1 (Sand: Gardensoil: FYM);T2 (Sand:Gardensoil:Vermi);T3 (Sand:Vermi.);T4 (Sand: FYM);T0 Control(Sand: Gardensoil)
No.of Seedsown percontainers100in Polyhouse,No.of seedssownper bed(1xl)m 500Seeds,in 5mm depthin beds.
waterfor 24 hrsandthosefloatingonthesurfacewere
rejected.Remairlingseedsweretreatedwith normal
waterandhotwatertreatmentatdifferenttime.
Germinationof suchseedsweretestedin the
plastictray,ploybags,Hikotraysaswellasdirectsowing
innurserybedsundershade(underplants)condition.
Preparotionofpattingmixture
Pottingmixtureforallcontainersincludingmother
#.We.re.comprisedoffivetreatments'of-sojl_mixture-_...-
u sand, garden soil, FYM and vermicompost.After
preparationofpottingmixture,thecontainerswerefilled
' up and 50 seedswere sown in eachpot. Dataof
germinationpercentagewererecordedafter10-25days
v inroomtemperature
5 Preparationofbeds
q After completingthe work pertainingto soil
I preparationthe seedbeds(1mtx 1"mt)weremadejust
priorto seedsowing.Thebedsweremadeinasystematic
v orderi.e.thelengthofthebedfacedEast-Westdirection
a so asto provideshadingwhereverrequired.Thebeds
v wereraised10-25cmabovethegroundlevel.100seeds
: perbedaspertreatmentweresownduringthemonthof
Y
Aprilinsp'acing5cmx5cm,theaveragetemperature1-g-
)
25'Cand37to 42"Crespectively.
Germinationinlabs
u Germinationof such seed was testedin the
laboratoryalso.Seedsneedheatinorderto comeoutof
u dormancyandgerminate.Sowe provideseedsheator
)
temperature25sCin seedgerminator.Thegermination
ol seedsstartedafterl-5days.Thegerminationratewas
) L6percent.
t--
h
v
treqtments
T-Soilmedia,C-containers
Site| - NWFpNurseryFRIDehradun,
Site-ll- NWFpNurseryChal<rata
Resultsand Discussion
Maximumseedgerminaiionperceniagewasseen
inSite-ll(ChakrataNWFPnursery)inmotherbedinT4C4,
T3C4,and Site-l(FRlNWFPNursery)in plastictrays
maximumseedgerminationwasseenintreatmentT4C3,
T3C3in (Table1). Therewas littlevariationin seed
germinationpercentofcombinationofsand,gardensoil,
FYMandvermicompost.Seedgerminationcontainers
i.e.polybags,Hiko-traysandplastictraysingreenhouse
and mother bedsat both experimentsites,Result
indicatedat lsite (low altitude)has intermediate
philologicaldormancyind seeilgeiminationper cent
--
25.8%the samecan be overcomeat naturalsiteof
Girardiniodiversifoliaaveragegerminationpercentwas
52.6%afLer4weel<s.
i
It is importanttherefore,to maintainadequate
humidityinthecontainersduringthegerminationphase.
Theratesof germinationwererelatedto seedin natural
habitatand differentseedcontainersof Himalayan
Nettle.lt isconcludedthatthe resultsof a gdrminaiion
behaviorcandifferdependingon the naturalhabiiais,
soilmediaintheconiainersandmotherbeds.Beclswere
preparedforseedgerminationinshadyandeastto west
athighhillsofUttral<hand.
However,incontainerizedproductionsystem,the
stockqualityisseriouslyconstrainsbythepoorqualit.vof
seedmaterial,typeof containers,pottingmixtureand
other managementpracticesand thereforerequire
greateratientionandcare.
ConclusionandRecommendation
Themaximumseedgerminationperceniageand
behaviorwas observedin shadedmoiher bed
experimentsite-l at ChakrataNWFp nursery.But
maximumgerminationpercentagewas observedin
pottingmediaT4C3in plastictray lab conditionof
nurserybedsandalsopottingmediaplaymajorroiein
increasinggerminationpercentageandgrortthbehavior
ofGirardiniadiversifoliaHighaltitudewithcoldcorrdiiion
alsoplayroleinincreasingseedgerminationandgrowih
behaviorofllimalayanneiileseedlings.
I- _ i _ - -
I
II
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4. t
.':
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^..1A1 Germiiratlon behavioi'of finei-speciesof Hirnalayanneltle (GirordiniaCit,ersi.fallci)ir, clifi:rerJ aliitLrCe
lvLrJ
37f
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