Germination patterns of some selected savannah seeds using various pre-sowing methods to assess seedlings growth responses in nursery

Abstract

The study was carried out at Forest Nursery, Federal University Dutsin-Ma to evaluate germination patterns of some savannah seeds using various pre-sowing methods to assess growth responses in nursery. The experiment was laid out as 5 x 5 factorial in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replicates. The factors were; agroforestry tree seeds (AFTS); Acacianilotica (AN); Parkiabiglobosa (PB); Diospyrosmespiliformis (DM^k); Detariummicrocapum (DM^t); Adansoniadigitata (AD) and pre-sowing treatments; Seeds soaked in 60 % diluted Tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid (H₂SO₄) (A); mechanical scarification (Ms); hot water at 60° C (HW); seeds soaked in water for 24 hours (W); control (C). The data were analyzed using ANOVA at p = .05. Seed emergence started 6 days after sowing (DAS) in AN seed treated with H₂SO₄ for 5 minutes (AAN) and DM_k seeds soaked in water for 24 hours (WDM_k). AN seed soaked in H2SO4 for 5 minutes (AAN) and DM_t seeds soaked in H₂SO₄ for 5 minutes (ADM_t) gave the highest (60 % and 50 %) germination percentage respectively. AN and DM_t seeds showed consistent significantly higher values (76.55, 187.50, 232.07, 325.50 and 506.05 and 0.34, 0.55, 0.63, 0.70 and 0.73) on number of leaves (NL) and collar diameters (CD) both at 2-10 WAS. A and W had significantly higher values (0.43, 0.50, and 0.56) and (0.40) on CD at 6-10 WAS and 4 WAS. In conclusion, AN and DM_t were the best performing seeds, AAN were the best pre-sowing treatment. They are therefore recommended for forest improvement and establishment.