The effects of seeds pre-treatment and media, on germination of the seeds and seedling development of Iroko, Milicia excelsa, an important but threatened timber yielding species, were assessed. M. excelsa seeds extracted from the fruits that dropped from the trees were subjected to various pretreatments [(washing in tap water, (SB 1), washing in water and soaking for 15 min in hot water, 50° and 60°C, respectively (SB 3 and SB 4), washing in water, soaking in hot water 50 and 60°C, respectively, then left till hot water cooled (SB 4 and SB 6) and SB 1 , is the control,] before sowing in 6 different media; (garden soil (GS), sawdust (SD), 1:1 mixtute of GS + SD, GS + PD (Poultry droppings), SD + PD and 1:2:1 mixture of GS + PD + SD). Pre-treated seeds; SB 2 , SB 3 , SB 5 germinated within 2 weeks after sowing, the control, SB 1 germinated within 3weeks while SB 4 and SB 6 failed to germinate. GS + PD + SD medium consistently influenced the highest percentage germination responses. Within the pre-treated seeds SB 3 gave the highest percentage germination (92%) and the control, the least 63%, while SB 4 and SB 6 failed to germinate. Variations shown by mean values of some seedling aerial growth parameters showed that the best values were consistently obtained with seedling grown in GS + PD + SD medium. The study has shown that M. excelsa can be propagated by the seeds.
Proximate investigation revealed the presence of moisture, ash, fibre, lipid, protein and carbohydrate in the healthy and spoilt samples. However, highest values of moisture (65.5± 0.012), ash (3.2± 00.004) and carbohydrate (10.04±0. 002) were recorded for the healthy samples whereas fibre, lipid and protein were higher for the spoilt samples. Mineral composition showed the presence of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, sodium and magnesium. All observed parameters were higher for the healthy samples of P. sativum with an exception for iron which recorded equal concentrations (4.0± 0.001) for both healthy and spoilt samples. Vitamin compositions found in P. sativum were vitamins A, C, thiamine and niacin. They all had higher values for the healthy samples. Furthermore, P. sativum also contained anti-nutrient and phytochemicals such as phytate, oxalate, saponin, tannin, carotenoid, flavonoid, polyphenol and lignin in appreciable concentrations. Nevertheless, three fungal organisms viz: Slerotiumrolfsii, Mucorsppand Rhizopusstoloniferwere isolated and implicated for the spoilage of P. sativum. S. rolfsii had highest incidence (50 ±0.003%) while Mucorspp and R. stolonifer recorded equal incidence (25± 0.023%).
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