Evaluation of pre-sowing treatments for seed germination enhancement of Chrysophyllum albidum g. Don

Abstract

Indigenous fruits are important for the many ecosystem benefits they provide. Chrysophyllum albidum G. Don is a fruit tree which provides many services including food and also used as shade tree in cocoa farms. Unfortunately, most farmers find it difficult to germinate the seeds. Various pre-sowing treatments were explored to find the best for the germination of seeds of C. albidum. Pre-sowing treatments employed were the immersion of seed in sulphuric acid for different time periods ranging from 5 to 30 min, fleshly sown, oven drying of seeds at 35^oC, 40^oC and 70^oC for 6 and 24 h, cold treatment in a refrigerator at 16^oC and 20^oC and mechanical scarification. Results of the study showed that mechanical scarification had the highest germination percentage of 73.3 percent, and this was significantly higher than the other treatments (P < 0.001). It also showed the earliest germination time of 6 days with a significant mean germination time (MGT) of 10.2 (P = 0.003). Germination percentages in the other treatments were less than 20 percent indicating dormancy in most of the seeds of C. albidum. Mechanical scarification with its high and uniform germination was the best method for adoption by farmers.