Effect of seed size variation and sowing media on the germination performance of <i>Caesalpinia bonduc (l) Roxb</i>

Abstract

Varying seed size influences the seedling vigour as germination of seeds is affected by sowing media. Towards optimum roduction of C. bonduc, the study therefore investigated seed size variation and sowing media on the germination potential of the species. The treatments consisted of 3 sowing media (river sand, top soil and decomposed sawdust) and seed size small (≤1.5cm), medium (>1.5cm to≤ 2.0cm) and large (> 2.0cm)to form 9 treatments combination, laid out in Completely Randomized Design and replicated 4 times. Germination counts were taken on daily basis till there was no visible germination. Percentage germination, mean daily germination (MDG), peak value (PV) and germination value (GV) was calculated. Data were subjected to analysis of variance. Large seed size sown in forest top soil (T8) had the highest germination percentage and GV of 98.3% and 2.46 respectively while small seed size sown in decomposed sawdust (T3) had the least germination percentage (77.5%). There was no significant difference (P>0.5) in all the germination parameters except germination percentage studied on the seed sizes of C. bonduc. Both germination value and germination percentage varied significantly (P< 0.5) on the sowing media used on seeds of C. bonduc. The study showed that large and medium seed sizes responded better than small seed sizes which could be as a result of large food and energy reserves present in the seed.

Keywords: seed size, emergence, sowing media, Caesalpinia bonduc, germination