Dependence of rate of germination of teak (Tectona grandis) seeds on sources, periods of soaking in water and pericarp treatments

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine suitable sources of teak (Tectona grandis) seeds and methods of treating the seeds to promote higher rate of germination, with the objective to supply large quantities of seedlings for developing commercial teak plantations in Ghana. The field work involved seed collection, seed pericarp treat-ments and soaking of seeds in water before sowing. Teak seeds collected from Abofour yielded higher number of germinated seeds than seeds from Jema, possibly because of higher annual rainfall at Abofour. The germinat-ion was enhanced when the seeds coat pericarps were removed, and the number of germinated teak seeds was highest when the seeds were not soaked in water. The highest percentage germination (77.7 %) among all treat-ment combinations was obtained for seeds from Abofour, without pericarp and soaking in water. Logistic model was used to determine the number of germinated teak seeds for a period of time, and the coefficient of determi-nation (R2) exceeded 96 %.

Journal of Applied Science and Technology Vol. 13 (1 & 2) 2008: pp. 108-113