Evaluation Of The Effect Of Pre-Treatment Of Moringa Oleifera Lamarck (Moringaceae) Seeds At The Early Stage Of Germination For Massive Production In South Benin

Abstract

Moringa Oleifera Lam., a tropical tree with multiple uses, used as a vegetable, is part of the eating habits of rural and urban communities. This study, which took place in the city of Cotonou, aims to contribute to a massive production of Moringa plants with a view to its promotion. In this line, an experimental protocol has been set down. Thus, four types of seed pretreatments were tested on a nursery whose plants are randomly arranged in four blocks of 30 plants with four repetitions. The treatments consisted of a control (seeds not pretreated) of seeds pre-heated to 50°C, seeds soaked for 48 hours in water and scarified seeds. The variables measured are the speed of germination, the height of the plants, the length of the stems and the number of leaves.. The results obtained show that the germination time is significantly better already from the 5th day after sowing for the heated seeds with a germination rate of 74.16%. As for scarified and soaked seeds, the germination rate is low 42.5%. However, at the development stage, the scarified seeds have a better stem height from the 50th day after sowing, a significant difference is observed between the controls (44,52); scarified (48.66) and seeds heated to 45 ° C (41.38) and a similar difference between controls (44.52) and soaked 48h (43.28). the same result is obtained for the length of the leaves from the 20th day after sowing or there is a significant difference (P = 0.0228) between the plants of the batches of scarified seeds and the seeds soaked for 48 hours and a similar difference between the soaked for 48 hours and the seedlings heated (6,17). On the other hand, the number of sheets parameter does not vary considerably depending on the pre-treatments. At the start of the experiment, a significant difference (P = 0.0011) was observed between the plants whose seeds were heated (3.43) and the soaked 48h (3.00) and the controls (2.57) and scarified (2.97). Decision makers must take steps to make Moringa Oleifera accessible to all populations through the creation of plantations for exploitation.