The effects of pre-germination treatments and soil media on seed germination and seedling growth of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica (Linn) in Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

Astudy was conducted to investigate theeffects of pre-germination treatments andsoil media on seed germination andseedling growth of Tamarind (Tamarindusindica) in Katsina State, Nigeria.Germination was monitored in the NurserySection of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State, Nigeria. The experimentwas laid in a Completely RandomizedDesign with four replications. Seedlingheight (SH), stem diameter (SD) andnumber of branches (NB) were measuredat two week intervals and analyzed usingAnalysis of Variance. Means wereseparated using Least SignificantDifference (LSD P≤0.05). Mechanicallyscarified seeds (MS), sown in top soil (S1)(S1MS) and seeds treated with 60 %concentrated Tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid(H2SO4) for 10 minutes (A10) and sown inS1 (S1A10), MS sown in S2 (S2MS), seedstreated with A10 and sown in S2 (S2A10),MS sown in top soil plus river sand plusmanure (S3) (S3MS) and seeds treated withA10 and sown in S3 (S3A10) germinated infirst five days after sowing (DAS) whilethose in the control germinated after ninedays. Treatment with A10 resulted in 100 %germination while MS resulted in 97.5 %germination. MS and seeds soaked inH2SO4 for five (5) minutes (A5) had higherSH values of 8.30 cm and 30.81 cmrespectively and NB values of 2.92. A10and MS had SD values of 3.20 cm and 3.20cm respectively. It is concluded that seedstreated with H2SO4 for 10 minutes and MSat the micropyle are the best pregerminationtreatment for breaking T.indica seeds and recommended for seedsowers so in order to achieve regenerationthat can meet various needs of man.