Abstract
ABSTRACTPouteria campachiana is a multipurpose fruit tree with diverse economic and medicinal significance. However, seed dormancy and low germination are problems for its use in agro-forestry practices. Investigations were carried out on the effect of pre-treatment on the germination and early seedling growth of P. campachiana. Germination was observed in seeds pre-treated with soaking and mechanical scarification in the 5th week after sowing, while untreated seeds germinated in the 7th week. Comparison between mechanically scarified and unscarified P. campachiana seeds showed no significant difference (P > 0.05). The study showed that soaking P. campachina seeds in cold water was not good for its germination, with a significant difference between soaked seeds and non soaked seeds. Percentage germination of seeds not soaked was 62.2% compared to 26.7% and 24.4% recorded for seeds soaked for 24 h and 48 h, respectively. The application of different pre-treatments, however, had no significant (P > 0.05) influence on the mean shoot length, collar diameter, and the number of leaves of P. campachiana. The study concludes that mechanical scarification improves germination of P. campachiana while soaking with cold water has a negative influence on seed germination.
Highlights
Pouteria campachiana (Baehni) is a woody tree of the family Sapotacea (Morton 1987)
Percentage germination was highest (67%) among seeds treated with partial scarification followed by completely scarified seeds (63%) and untreated seeds (57%)
Germination started in the 5th week in the case of soaked and mechanically scarified seeds while the untreated seeds started germination in the 7th week (Figures 1–3)
Summary
Pouteria campachiana (Baehni) is a woody tree of the family Sapotacea (Morton 1987). The mature tree grows up to 30 m in height and 1 m in diameter. Fruits are green-skinned, hard, with gummy internal tissue when unripe. Ripe fruits are lemon-yellow, golden-yellow, or pale orange-yellow skinned (Morton 1987). Pouteria campachiana is a native plant of southern Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. It can be found distributed throughout Central America, the Caribbean, South East Asia, and Africa (Morton 1987). In Ghana the tree is common in Aburi in the Eastern Region
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