Effect of pre-germination treatments and potting mixtures on germination and seedling emergence of four cultivars of date palm in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

Date palm production is widely limited by poor stand establishments and nutrient deficiencies especially in drought prone environment. This experiment was conducted in Forestry and Fisheries Laboratory for Germination test and at Agricultural Research Farm of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, Nigeria to determine the effect of pre-germination treatments and potting mixtures on germination and seedling emergence of four cultivars (Nifor hybrid1, Nifor hybrid 2, Deglet, and Trigal) of date palm. Seeds of the study species were soaked in hot water for 0, 5, 10 and 15 minutes and cold water for 0, 6, 12 and 24 hours. Two potting mixtures were also used (River sand and Farmyard Manure, River sand and poultry droppings) in 2:1 ratio, respectively. Fifteen days after soaking (DAS) Deglet and Trigal soaked in hot water had significantly higher (P<0.05) germination percentage (80% each) at 5 and 10 minutes respectively, while Nifor hybrid 1 and Deglet soaked in cold water gave the highest germination (70% each) at 6 and 24 hours respectively. River sand and poultry droppings gave significantly higher (P<0.05) seedling emergence (80-100%) in all the study species. It is therefore concluded that, Soaking (hot and cold water) for 5 minutes and 24 hours respectively could be used to accelerate and improve seeds germination while River sand and Poultry droppings in 2:1 ratio proved to be promising for seedling emergence of this important tree species.