Effects of Seed Weights and Sowing Media on Germination and Early Growth of Afzelia africana Smith ex Pers

Abstract

Seed weight is essential in assessing seed quality traits, while sowing medium has significant role in seed germination. This study therefore assessed effect of seed weights and sowing media on germination of Afzelia africana seeds to enhancing sustainable production of the species.
 Seeds of different sizes were collected, weighed and grouped into small (120), medium (120) and large (120) seeds. Each seed group was sown in three sowing media (washed river sand, decomposed sawdust, and forest top soil) replicated 4 times and arranged in Completely Randomized Design. The growth assessment comprised of 3 treatments which included seedlings from small, medium and large seeds and replicated 4 times. Plant height, leaf production and stem diameter were assessed fortnightly for twelve weeks. Biomass assessment was carried out twice (second week and twelfth week). Mean Daily Germination, Germination Percentage, Germination Energy, Peak Value, Germination value, Net Assimilation Rate and Relative Growth Rate were estimated. Data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA).
 Mean Daily Germination showed that large seeds sown in river sand large seed size sown in saw dust (T4 and T7) had highest value of 3.47 and 3.29 respectively with GV of 12.83.
 There was significant difference (p < 0.05) in the effects of different sowing media and seed weights on the germination of A. africana. Saw dust gave the highest mean value with 52.777±0.28 while mean value of large sized seeds was highest (57.539±0.6). There was significant difference (p<0.05) in the effects of different seed weight on the height, collar diameter and leaf production.
 Germination percentage of A. africana improved significantly with the sowing media and seed weight especially sawdust, river sand, and large seed size. It therefore suggested that A. africana seedling should be raised at nursery stage with river sand and Large seed size in order to increase the growth of plant and have more vigorous seedlings for plantation establishment.

Effect of Growth Media on Plumule Emergence and Early Seedling Growth of Monodora myristica

“…Seeds of Monodora myristica sown in saw dust only had the highest emergence rate when compared to other growth media. This supports the work of Peter-Onoh et al, (2014) which reported that saw dust improved early and high number of Monodora myristica in the nursery, and that of Aderounmu et. al.…”

Effect of Seed Source and Seed Size on the Early Growth of Anacardium Occidentale Seedlings

“…Large seeds influenced the seedling height, foliage, leaf area and stem collar diameter. This observation correlates with the findings of Aderounmu et al (2019), Fredrick et al (2020 and Aderounmu et al (2020) who reported the direct association between seed sizes and growth rate of Afzelia africana, Dennettia tripetala and Anacardium occidentale respectively. Singh et al (2021) also reported that larger seeds enhanced more growth in shoot length, collar diameter and root length in some forest tree species.…”

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“…The variations in nursery growing media emerge from the different soil types and their amendments [12,13]. The influence of the growing media on the performance of commercial tree species is an important factor since it forms the basis of adjustments to tree nursery practices depending on the demands of the species raised [14,15].…”