Delineating Ashwagandha [Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal] varieties in Indian commerce using seed morphometric, quality and spermoderm pattern traits: Combating seed adulteration

• Published in: Industrial crops and products 2024-12, Vol.222, p.119651, Article 119651
• Main Authors: Pandey, Praveen, Dwivedi, Shweta, Jangir, Harsita, Lal, Kanhaiya, Srivastava, Jyotsna, Jhang, Tripta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adulteration; Ashwagandha; Certified seed; Commerce; Varieties
• ISSN: 0926-6690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2024.119651

The surge in the global demand for safe, potent, herbal immunomodulators post-COVID-19, has led to a startling escalation in the acreage of Ashwagandha, a potent adaptogen among herbal supplements. Competitive market spurs the unregulated, random, and erratic huge demand for certified seeds of elite varieties of premium commerce. The cultivation of Ashwagandha faces seed adulteration malpractices at various stages of the supply chain. Seed adulteration is a threat to the sustainable cultivation of targeted plant varieties, dry roots and their derived extracts, economic gains, and country export necessitating concrete regulations and surveillance. Ashwagandha seed morphometric (colour, shape, hilum position, dimensional and physical), quality (inherent moisture and germination potential), and spermoderm pattern (exotestal) traits were investigated, to demarcate its varieties in commerce from India. Annual type varieties sub-classified into three subclades and distinctly demarcated from perennial type varieties by principal component analysis, scree plot, and clustering. Perennial varieties differentiated from annual type by the colour, seed per berry, test weight, inherent moisture content and spermoderm pattern. Spermoderm analysis revealed small exotestal polygonal cells with very thick, shallow anti-clinal walls in perennial type varieties (NMITLI 101, NMITLI 118, CIMAP-Pratap, and Poshita). Annual type varieties (JA-20, Arka Ashwagandha, CIM-Pushti, RVA-100, GAA-1, JA-134, and CIMAP Chetak) had large exotestal polygonal cells, deep anticlinal wall with higher numbers of conspicuous pores localized in troughs. The study presents readily onsite available, environment-insensitive, non-invasive, cost-effective, and stable seed morphometric and spermodermal markers to combat seed adulteration in Ashwagandha as substitution of expensive, time-consuming, skill and equipment-specific molecular and chemotyping methods. These can be implemented onsite at any stage of the supply chain, by the growers, and stakeholders to ensure seed purity, safeguard breeder's and farmer's rights, and restrain seed adulteration in the supply chain to achieve higher agricultural production and productivity and remunerative income for the Ashwagandha growers. [Display omitted] •Seed morphometric(17), quality(2), & spermodermal traits collectively demarcated Ashwagandha varieties in commerce from India for combating seed adulteration.•Perennial type (NMITLI 101, CIMAP Pratap, Poshita