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PRE-SOWING TREATMENTS FOR ENHANCED SEEDLING EMERGENCE OF PINK SHOWER (Cassia nodosa Buch. –Ham. Ex Roxb.) SEEDS IN NURSERY
Abstract
Pink shower (Cassia nodosa: Fabaceae family) is a flowering shade tree used in landscape garden and park
planting. Seeds of C.nodosa experience dormancy which delays germination and early seedling establishment,
and there is limited information addressing pre-sowing treatment of the species. The experiment investigated
effects of some pre-sowing treatments(soaking for 3, 6 and 12 hours; two water temperature regimes – 60o and
80oC) on Seedling Emergence (SE) of C. nodosa.A3 x 2 factorial experiment in completely randomised design
with five replications was used. Treatments were applied on both mechanically scarified and non-scarified seeds.
Daily and total SE counts were taken for 84 Days After Sowing (DAS). Data were analysed by use of simple
statistics and ANOVA at p<0.05. Results showed that days to first SE ranged from 4.4 to 5.8 DAS in scarified
seeds, and 5.2 to 8.6 DAS in non-scarified seeds. The scarified seeds given various pre-sowing treatment
combinations progressed beyond 50% SE at 84 DAS. Scarified seeds pre-soaked in 60°C water for 3 hours gave
relatively highest cumulative SE (76%±8.9), while least SE (32%±11.0) was obtained from non-scarified seeds
pre-soaked in 80°C hot water for 3 hours. In conclusion, the combination of mechanical scarification of seeds and
soaking in 60°C water for 3 hours enhanced seedling emergence of Cassia nodosa.
