Abstract
The effects of seeds pre-treatment and media, on germination of the seeds and seedling development of Iroko,Milicia excelsa, an important but threatened timber yielding species, were assessed. M. excelsa seeds extracted from the fruits that dropped from the trees were subjected to various pre-treatments [(washing in tap water, (SB1), washing in water and soaking for 15 min in hot water, 50° and 60°C, respectively (SB3 and SB4), washing in water, soaking in hot water 50 and 60°C, respectively, then left till hot water cooled (SB4 and SB6) and SB1, is the control,] before sowing in 6 different media; (garden soil (GS), sawdust (SD), 1:1 mixtute of GS + SD, GS + PD (Poultry droppings), SD + PD and 1:2:1 mixture of GS + PD + SD). Pre-treated seeds; SB2, SB3, SB5 germinated within 2 weeks after sowing, the control, SB1 germinated within 3weeks while SB4 and SB6 failed to germinate. GS + PD + SD medium consistently influenced the highest percentage germination responses. Within the pre-treated seeds SB3 gave the highest percentage germination (92%) and the control, the least 63%, while SB4 and SB6 failed to germinate. Variations shown by mean values of some seedling aerial growth parameters showed that the best values were consistently obtained with seedling grown in GS + PD + SD medium. The study has shown that M. excelsa can be propagated by the seeds. Key words: Milicia excelsa, seed pretreatement media.
Highlights
Prior to the exploration of petroleum, timber in the form of log, sawnwood and roundwood constituted the main bulk of Nigeria’s export commodies (Enabor, 1976; Nwoboshi, 1976). Redhead (1971) identified 560 plant species in Nigeria’s forest capable of yielding timber. Nwoboshi (1976) observed that 60 out of the 560 plant timber species identified by Redhead (1971) can yield timber of commercial value
M. excelsa seeds extracted from the fruits that dropped from the trees were subjected to various pretreatments [(washing in tap water, (SB1), washing in water and soaking for 15 min in hot water, 50° and 60°C, respectively (SB3 and SB4), washing in water, soaking in hot water 50 and 60°C, respectively, left till hot water cooled (SB4 and SB6) and SB1, is the control,] before sowing in 6 different media; (garden soil (GS), sawdust (SD), 1:1 mixtute of GS + SD, GS + PD (Poultry droppings), SD + PD and 1:2:1 mixture of GS + PD + SD)
The author further recommended that single media like SD and GS can be made to retain more water by amending them with organic matter which will reduce the macropores to a lot of micropores, noted for aeration and encouraging retention of absorbed water
Summary
Prior to the exploration of petroleum, timber in the form of log, sawnwood and roundwood constituted the main bulk of Nigeria’s export commodies (Enabor, 1976; Nwoboshi, 1976). Redhead (1971) identified 560 plant species in Nigeria’s forest capable of yielding timber. Nwoboshi (1976) observed that 60 out of the 560 plant timber species identified by Redhead (1971) can yield timber of commercial value. Prior to the exploration of petroleum, timber in the form of log, sawnwood and roundwood constituted the main bulk of Nigeria’s export commodies (Enabor, 1976; Nwoboshi, 1976). Redhead (1971) identified 560 plant species in Nigeria’s forest capable of yielding timber. Nwoboshi (1976) observed that 60 out of the 560 plant timber species identified by Redhead (1971) can yield timber of commercial value. Earlier, Redhead (1971) listed Chlorophora excelsa, Khaya ivorensis, Nauclea didirechi, Gmelina arborea, Terminalia ivorensis and a host of other plant species as the major economic timber species in Nigeria. Except C. excelsa, M. excelsa, (Iroko) and most of the identified timber
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
