Studies on the seedling growth of Adansonia digitata AL.

Abstract

The germination and growth of seedlings of Adansonia digitata were investigated at the Biological garden of ABU Zaria, Nigeria (07o38′ and 11o11′N) at different planting depths and soil types. The seeds were planted at different planting depths of 1.0 cm, 2.0 cm, 4.0 cm and 6.0 cm in nursery bags and kept in a screen house and watered regularly. Results shows that as the planting depth increased, there was an increase in percentage germination, seedling height, number of leaves produced and leaf area index. The case was reverse in terms of percentage survival as increased planting depth resulted in a decrease survival. Number of days before emergence increased with increased planting depth. The highest percentage germination was recorded in sandy soil (75 %), followed by humus soil (32.7 %) while clay soil had no germination. The highest number of days before emergence was recorded in humus soil. Sandy soil had seedlings that produced leaves with Leaf Area Index (LAI) of 18.04 cm2, Humus 9.24 cm2 and loamy soil 7.26 cm2. All seedlings from all soil types produced between 8-15 leaves. Germinated seedlings from clay soil did not survive 60 days post planting. Significant correlation values were observed between planting depth and seedling height, number of days before emergence, number of leaves produced and seedling survival. Both the depth of planting and soil type affected seed germination and seedling performance of Adansonia digitata.

Keywords: Planting depth, soil type, seed, germination, seedling, Adansonia digitata