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Seed Morphology and Germination Studies of Dalbergia Sissoo Roxb. at Nursery Stage in Bangladesh

Altaf Hossain Sheikh
Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, D.E., Malaysia.

Md Abdul Matin
Forestry and Wood Technology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna- 9208, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing, deciduous tree used in agroforestry, afforestation programs and farm forestry. It is one of the most widely used species for a variety of uses in different parts of the world and uses in rural areas of Bangladesh. Morphological characteristics of the fruits and seeds, seed germination and seedling growth performance of the species were studied in the nursery. The length, breadth, thickness and weight of the fruits and seeds were measured and were found highest in 4-seeded and lowest in 1 -seeded fruit. The rate of untreated seed germination was tried in the seed tray, polybag and seedbed. The highest germination percentage was found both in cow-dung mix soil (59-68%) and without coated seeds (61-70%) in all conditions. The germination rate was poor in clear soil (55-61 %). The required germination period was very short in seeds of without coated (3-6 days) in relation to with coated seeds (14-15 days) in all conditions. So, cow-dung mixture soil is suggested for germination of the species. Seeds having no coat require less time to start and complete germination and are higher in percentage than that of with seed coat seeds. Although removing of coatings required much time and effort, it is suggested that seeds without coatings can be used to get quicker germination and better results.

Keywords: Dalbergia sissoo, Seed, Seed morphology, Germination

Location: Satkhira and Khulna Districts, Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-12-2004

End Date: 00-01-2005

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Commodity: Sisso

Objectives:

To determine the Seed Morphology and Germination Studies of Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. at Nursery Stage in Bangladesh

Methodology:

The fruits known as pods of Dalbergia sissoo were collected from trees planted along the highway of Tala-Paikgacha under Satkhira and Khulna Districts during the month of December 2004 and January 2005. The ripe fruits/pods were collected directly from trees by climbing the tree manually with bags or baskets and by beating with sticks or shaking the branches and collected from the ground. The trees were of about 10- 15 years old with straight bales and well-formed and healthy spreading crowns. Bunches of pods were collected from each tree. The fruits were then dried for 6-8 days in the sun and after that each pod was separated from the bunches. The pods were then dried for another 3-4 days in open air by spreading them on the floor and then stored. The pods were then grouped based on the number of seeds contained in it and were found four types namely 1-4 seeded. Measurements of each type of fruits such as fruit weight, fruit length, breadth and thickness etc. were taken. Measurements of the same were also taken for seeds. An electronic balance was used for weight and a slide calipers was used for measuring dimensions of fruits and seeds. For germination trails, three types of treatments were used namely poly bags, plastic seive as seed tray and nursery seedbeds. White color poly bags of size 15 x 10 cm x 0.006 mm, round plastic sieve of 24.5 cm diameter as seed tray and open nursery plot of lm x 1 m area as seed beds were used at the Forestry and Wood Technology (FWT) nursery in Khulna University (KU), Khulna during the experiment. The rooting media used for germination purpose were clear dry soil and decomposed cow-dung in 3: 1 ratio by volume and were thoroughly mixed with each other arid clear soil. The seeds used were of with seed coat and without seed coat. The relative humidity, air temperature and rainfall were recorded during the experiment period. For these purposes, Hygrometer / Humidity meter, Thermometer; and Rain gauge were, respectively used. The average relative humidity, rainfall, air temperature and soil moisture were 76%-80°lo, 196 cm - 200 cm and 28-32 °C, respectively. The pods were then segmented into parts containing 1 seed in each part. In all the three treatments/conditions (viz. seed tray, poly bag and seed beds) rooting media is placed properly and 100 seeds with seed coat collected randomly were sown directly in May, 2005 without any pre-treatment having three replications. The seeds were sowed uniformly at a depth of 0.5 -1.5 cm in all three treatments. Watering was done at every alternate day. The number of seeds germinated was recorded every day in each condition by counting the number of seedlings germinated. The starting and finishing date of germination were also recorded and total length of the period in days was also calculated. The percentage of germination of the species was calculated. The percent Germinative Energy (GE) was calculated by using the following formula: GE (%) = (Number of germinating seeds during the germinative energy period) / (Total number of seeds in the sample) x 100.

Source of Information: Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci., 3(1): 35-39, 2007

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Achievement/Findings:

In the case of seed germination, seeds in the clear soil medium and cowdung mixture soil medium (3: 1) showed the best performance in seed tray conditions but seeds having no coatings performed better in poly bag conditions. Germination period required less in cow-dung mixture soil medium and is higher in percentage than that of clear soil medium. So, cow-dung mixture soil is suggested for germination of the species. Again, seeds having no coat require less time to start and complete germination and are higher in percentage than that of with seed coats. Hence it is suggested that seeds without coatings can be used to get quicker germination and better results though removing of coatings required much time and effort. Although removing of coatings required much time and effort, it is suggested that seeds without coatings can be used to get quicker germination and better results.

Knowledge Management: Journal