Abstract

Amusa, T. O

The study assessed the effects of three pre-treatment techniques on dormancy and germination of seeds of Afzelia africana (Sm. ex Pers), an endangered tree species in Savanna ecozone of Nigeria. The three pre-treatment techniques are: soaking in cold water for 1, 12 and 24 h, soaking in hot water (100�?� C) for 1, 12 and 24 h and soaking in 10, 50 and 98% concentrated sulphuric acid (H2SO4) for 5, 10 and 30 min. Experiments were performed based on a completely randomized design with four replicate. The results show that cold water pre-treatment of A. africana seeds only gave a fair germination percentage (33.33 to 53.33%) and reduced dormancy period. On the other hand, the effect of hot water pre-treatment on the seeds gave adverse result (26.67 to 36.67%). Although A. africana seeds under control treatment gave an impressive germination, which did not differ significantly from the results of other pretreatment techniques (F-cal = 2.6777; P-level = 0.1180; P < 0.05), acid pre-treatments yield a more uniform and regular germination. Thus, while the seeds of A, africana could be germinated without pretreatment, to attain higher percentage germination and reduced dormancy period, the seeds should be pre-treated with sulphuric acid.