Effect of Different Pre-Sowing Treatments on the Germination and Initial Growth of Pterocarpus Erinaceus Seeds

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SEPTEMBER 2016
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Abstract
Pterocarpus erinaceus plants are being used in the afforestation programme implementation in the savanna ecological zone of the Northern Region of Ghana but there is a problem with the germination rate and efficiency of the seeds. This study was therefore initiated to investigate the effects of different pre-sowing treatments on seed germination and seedling growth rate of Pterocarpus erinaceus. Seeds from Pterocarpus erinaceus plant were collected and subjected to five different pre-sowing treatments. The seeds soaked in cold water at room temperature for 24 hours (T2), in hot water (100 ⁰C) for 1 hour (T3), in concentrated sulphuric acid for 1 hour (T5), mechanical scarification (T4), and no treatment (T1) as control. The treatments were arranged using Completely Randomized Design. Each treatment had 50 seeds making a total of 250 seeds as the sample size. After the treatments, the seeds were sown in 10cm black polythene tubes filled with loamy soil. One seed was sown per tube at a depth of 2cm. Growth features of the seeds were assessed 7 days after sowing, and daily thereafter for 25 days. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA and the significant means separated using the F-LSD. The results indicate that pre-sowing seed treatments have positive influence on percentage germination. However, seed treatment had no significant effect on the seedling growth. Highest percentage germination (70%) was attained with seeds soaked in cold water (T2) at 25⁰C. This was followed by those which were mechanical scarification (T4) which recorded percentage germination of 66%. Control (T1) and hot water (T3) treatments recorded percentage germination of 62% and 58% respectively. No germination was recorded for acid treatment. Seeds that were treated with cold water had the best results as compared to the other treatments. Therefore, it is recommended that using cold water at room temperature as a pre-sowing method should be encouraged for early germination of P. erinaceus.
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A thesis submitted to the Department of Theoretical and Applied Biology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements of Master of Science degree in Environmental Science,
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