Effect of pretreatments on germination of seeds of the timber plant, Terminalia ivorensis and Mansonnia altissima (A. Chev.)

Abstract

Terminalia ivorensis and Mansonnia altissima is an important tropical timber tree plant, but poor germination is an important factor militating its regeneration. Effects of pretreatments on germination of seeds of Terminalia ivorensis and Mansonia altissima were studied. Four hundered and eighty matured seeds of Terminalia ivorensis and three hundred and sixty seeds of Mansonia altissima were obtained from Forest Reserve Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), Ibadan. The seeds were divided into twenty-one equal portions of 10 seeds each. Twelve pretreatments were investigated on Terminalia ivorensis and nine pretreatments on Mansonia altissima. The seeds were sown inside plastic basket containing sterilized river sand under high humidity propagator with four replicates each. Germination counts were taken daily for eighty days. Percentage germination was computed for each treatment and the data were subjected to analysis of variance. Germination was first observed among the scarified Terminalia ivorensis seeds at 14 days after sowing (DAS) and this treatment group had the highest percentage germination of 82.5%, while seeds soaked in hot water recorded the least germination. Germination was first observed in decoated Mansonia altissima and this treatment group had the highest percentage germination of 45%, whereas the least was observed among the treatments with H­2SO4. The effect of pretreatment was highly significant (p≤0.05) on the germination of both species. It is therefore recommended that mechanical scarification of Terminalia ivorensis and decoating seed of Mansonia altissima will enhance the germination of the two species.

Keywords

• germination; gibberrelic acid; Mansonia altissima; pretreatment; Terminalia ivorensis