Effect of Seed Size and Source Variation on Germination Potentials of Anacardium occidentale (Linnaeus) Seeds

Abstract

Size is one of seed quality that determines the rate of seed germination while seed source presents the best genetic materials carried by the mother tree and transferable to the offspring. This study investigated the effects of seed size and seed source on germination percentage of Anacardium occidentale. 81 viable seeds of different seed sizes (large, medium, and small) collected from mother trees at three different sources (Funaab, Camp and Obantoko) in Abeokuta, Ogun State were sown in polythene pots. Seeds of the same size were sown at the rate of 3 seeds per pot with 3 replicates for each of the sizes sown. The experiment was laid out in 3 x 3 factorial in Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Daily record of new sprouts was taken, and the germination percentage was calculated, collected data was analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in SAS. Germination percentage (98%) was significantly (P<0.05) higher in Small sized seeds which was not different from medium sizes seed (92.67%) while seeds sourced from Camp had the highest germination (98%) at (P<0.05). Highly significant interactions (p<0.05) were recorded between seed size and seed source. The smaller the size of Anarcadium occendalis seeds the higher the germination within different sources of collection.