Variation in seed morphometric traits, germination and early seedling growth performances of Tamarindus indica L.

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to address provenance variation in Tamarindus indica seed’s morphometric traits, germination and early seedling growth. Seed samples were sampled from three populations in Benin and examined for variations in seed morphometric traits, germination response to pretreatment, and seedling growth. Overall, seed traits significantly differed and showed positive correlation with humidity gradient. The effect of the interaction provenances*pre-treatments was significant on the mean germination time (p < 0.0001) but not on the final percentage of germination (p = 0.937). Both direct sowing and cow dung solution soaking ensured 90% of germination while boiled water soaking seemed to annihilate the capacity of seeds to germinate. Seeds from the Guineo-Congolian region took fewer days to geminate (13.4) than that from the Sudanian region (20.3). Growth speed also varied, with the Guineo-Congolian provenance reaching 46.1 cm (height) and 0.89 cm (collar diameter) and the Sudanian provenance, 40.4 cm and 0.57 cm respectively, after six month of growth. Results evidence that pre-treatment is not necessarily relevant to reach a high germination percentage for tamarind seeds but may speed germination. The Guineo-Congolian provenance may be preferably used as rootstock onto which further selected cultivars will be grafted and used to rejuvenate traditional agroforestry systems.
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Key words: Seed emergence, seedling growth, early growth speed, Benin.