GARCINIA KOLA HECKEL SEEDS DORMANCY-BREAKING

Abstract

Seeds dormancy-breaking was investigated for Garcinia kola Heckel by using techniques that can afford small farmers for domestication. Garcinia kola seeds in their natural habitat have 6 weeks to 18 months dormancy. The methods experimented to overcome seed dormancy included conservation or removal of seed coat followed by pre-germination treatments including soaking for 24 hours in cold water (25°C), or in hot water (70°C); immersion in pineapple juice or incorporation in banana false trunk for one week. Sand mixed with compost and sawdust were used as germination substrata. The germination rates were quite low (0-40%) due to poor seed quality. Seed coat removal followed by soaking in cold water affected positively dormancy-breaking while the warm treatment caused embryo destruction and failure of seed germination. The effective dormancy-breaking methods to be recommended were decoated seeds soaked in cold water, coated seeds placed in banana false trunk and coated seeds soaked in pineapple juice where germination started 95, 102 and 110 days respectively from sowing with 130-141 days as mean germination time. The germination substratum irrespective of dormancy-breaking method didn't affect significantly either the germination percentage or the germination time. Further investigation is necessary to improve dormancy-breaking. Keywords. Garcinia kola, seed dormancy-breaking, germination rate, germination time, seedling growth.