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Influence of pre-sowing treatment and substrate on germination and seedling vigour of Acacia angustissima (Mill.) Kuntze, Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) C.DC. and Newtonia camerunensis Villiers

Author Affiliations

  • 1Department of Crop Production Technology, College of Technology, The University of Bamenda, P.O. Box 39 Bambili, Cameroon
  • 2Department of Crop Production Technology, College of Technology, The University of Bamenda, P.O. Box 39 Bambili, Cameroon

Res. J. Agriculture & Forestry Sci., Volume 7, Issue (2), Pages 25-35, April,8 (2019)

Abstract

Seeds of Acacia angustissima (Mill.) Kuntze, Entandrophragma angolense (Welw.) C.DC., and Newtonia camerunensis Villiers were subjected to five pre-sowing treatments (no treatment, soaking in cold water for 24 hours, soaking in hot water for 5 minutes, immersion in 20 % H2SO4 for 20 minutes, immersion in 60 % H2SO4 for 20 minutes) and sown in three substrates (sand, sawdust, and 1:1 sand:sawdust) in a non-mist propagator for nine weeks. The number of germinating seeds was recorded daily. Seedlings of Entandrophragma angolense were transplanted into polythene bags filled with the three substrates and moved to an outdoor nursery. Treatments were laid out in a slit-plot design with substrate as the whole plot and pre-sowing treatment as the sub-plot. Data on growth were collected twelve weeks after transplant. Germination percentage and growth rate index of Acacia angustissima were highest in hot water and lowest in the H2SO4 pre-treatments which did not show significant differences with the untreated control. While germination attributes of Entandrophragma angolense seeds did not respond to pre-sowing and substrate treatments, sand significantly increased seedling height, number of leaves, and leaf area in the species. Seeds of Newtonia camerunensis failed to germinate in any of the treatments. The findings suggest that the hot water scarification treatment could be beneficial for enhancing seed germination in Acacia angustissima and sand is a suitable substrate for early growth of Entandrophragma angolense.

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